The positive attitude of Ukrainians towards Moldova decreased to 55.4%, but remains high — Experts Club

Moldova maintains a mostly positive perception among Ukrainians: in August 2026, 55.4% of respondents have a positive attitude towards the country, while 7.3% have a negative attitude. At the same time, more than a third of respondents — 35.6% — take a neutral position. Compared to March, the share of positive ratings decreased slightly, reports the information and analytical center Experts Club.

According to the results of August survey, 20.4% of Ukrainians have a completely positive attitude towards Moldova, 35% are mostly positive. A neutral attitude was expressed by 35.6% of respondents. For the most part, 6.1% evaluate the country negatively, 1.2% completely negatively, another 1.8% could not decide.

According to the rounded data of the table, the balance of positive and negative evaluations is about plus 48.1 percentage points. Thus, the positive attitude towards Moldova outweighs the negative by more than seven times. Among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, it is inferior only to the Czech Republic in terms of the balance of assessments.

In March 2026, 60.1% of respondents had a positive attitude towards Moldova: 22.8% were completely positive and 37.3% were mostly positive. 32.9% of respondents took a neutral position, 5.4% evaluated the country negatively, and another 1.6% could not decide. 

So, in five months, the share of positive answers decreased by 4.7 percentage points. — from 60.1% to 55.4%. There were 1.9 percentage points of negative evaluations. more, and the neutral segment increased by 2.7 pp. The balance of positive and negative attitudes, respectively, decreased from approximately plus 54.7 to plus 48.1 p.p.

At the same time, Moldova is important for Ukraine not only as a neighboring country, but also as a sales market. In the first half of 2026, Ukraine's positive balance in trade with Moldova amounted to about $467 million, which put it in third place among partners with the largest trade surplus after Spain and Egypt.

The founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center, candidate of economic sciences Maksym Urakin emphasizes that it is important for Ukraine not only to maintain a presence in such markets, but also to transform a positive trade balance sheet for long-term economic results.

"To gain a foothold in these markets, it is not enough just to produce a competitive product. Long-term contracts, affordable military and commercial risk insurance, export credit, systematic trade diplomacy, harmonized veterinary and phytosanitary procedures, and investment in ports, rail, border infrastructure, and overseas logistics centers are needed. A positive balance should turn into not just a statistical difference between exports and imports, but a stable flow of foreign exchange earnings, taxes, investments and jobs in Ukraine," Urakin said.

He also refers to Moldova as one of the areas where Ukraine already has a favorable starting position: "The most applicable "growth points" for Ukraine are a combination of markets with already positive balances — Egypt, Moldova, partly trade EU hubs and tools that reduce barriers: agreements, standardization and logistics," emphasized Urakin.

Thus, the new wave of surveys records a certain weakening of the positive attitude towards Moldova, but not a change in the overall picture: more than half of Ukrainians evaluate the country positively, the negative segment remains small, and economic relations are characterized by a significant positive trade balance for Ukraine.