The attitude of Ukrainians towards Slovakia in August 2026 significantly improved compared to the previous study: the share of positive assessments increased to 40.7%, while the share of negative assessments decreased to 12.2%. Respondents with a neutral attitude remain the largest group — 44.4%, reports the information and analytical center Experts Club. Experts.news A neutral attitude was expressed by 44.4% of respondents. For the most part, 10.8% evaluate the country negatively, 1.4% completely negatively, and another 2.7% could not decide.
According to the rounded indicators of the table, the balance of positive and negative evaluations is about plus 28.5 percentage points, while in the consolidated results of the study it is given at the level of plus 28.6 percentage points. This is one of the most visible examples of improving public perception among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
In March 2026, positive to Slovakia was viewed by 34.3% of respondents: 8.9% were completely positive and 25.4% were mostly positive. At that time, 18.2% of respondents expressed a negative attitude, and 43.6% expressed a neutral attitude.
Thus, in five months, the share of positive evaluations increased by 6.4 percentage points. — from 34.3% to 40.7%, while negative ones decreased by approximately 6 percentage points. — from 18.2% to 12.2%. The neutral group practically did not change - 43.6% in March against 44.4% in August.
The change in the balance of positive and negative evaluations is even more noticeable: it increased from approximately plus 16.1 percentage points. to plus 28.6 percentage points, i.e. by more than 12 percentage points. Unlike a number of other states in the region, where deterioration or mostly stable dynamics were recorded in August, in the case of Slovakia, the study shows a movement towards a more favorable perception.
The founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center, Candidate of Economic Sciences Maksym Urakin believes that the improvement of attitudes towards Slovakia can be connected with a gradual transition from an emotional perception of political rhetoric to a more pragmatic assessment of the real relations between the two countries
"Slovakia for Ukraine is a neighboring state with which there are very specific daily connections: trade, transit, energy, border interaction, humanitarian contacts and movement of people. When society sees these practical connections and they remain stable, it gradually softens even a rather sharp political background. In my opinion, the current increase in positive ratings shows just such a transition to a more pragmatic perception of Slovakia," Maksym Urakin noted.
According to him, the simultaneous growth of the positive segment and reduction of the negative segment is especially indicative.
"It is not only the change in the overall balance that is important here. Over the course of five months, the share of negative ratings decreased by about a third, while positive ratings increased significantly. This means that part of the people who previously viewed Slovakia critically are not just neutral, but also a positive group. At the same time, 44.4% of neutral responses show that the potential for further formation of the country's image in Ukraine remains very large," Urakin added.
The survey was conducted in August 2026 using the method of online self-completion of questionnaires in the SunFlowerSociology panel among 800 Ukrainian citizens aged 18 and older. The previous wave in March also included 800 respondents; the sample was representative in terms of age, gender and region, the maximum theoretical error for the 50% indicator was ±3.5 percentage points.
