Tom Miscioscia, Country Director, March 2026
This year, Ukraine was included in the British Council's Global Perceptions 2025 study, part of our annual research programme running since 2016. It explores what matters to young people and how they view countries across the G20 in terms of trust and attractiveness. The Ukraine findings offer a timely view of how educated young Ukrainians see global risks, values and international partners.
For me, the results point to a practical question. Expressions of support matter. Partnership is judged by what partners do next and whether that work helps strengthen people and institutions over time. For 35 years, the British Council has worked in Ukraine alongside government institutions and more than a hundred of NGOs and professional organisations, strengthening skills and systems and building UK-Ukraine partnerships.
What young Ukrainians want the world to focus on
When we asked young people in Ukraine what the world should be most concerned about, three priorities stood out: armed conflict (76%), poverty (53%) and climate change (47%). That ordering is telling. It reflects a view of the world where security comes first and where wider issues are still shaped by the realities of war. It also helps explain what young Ukrainians expect from international cooperation.
Trust in the UK brings expectations with it
Two other findings stand out. In Ukraine, 64% say they trust people from the UK. The UK also ranks among the top three countries seen as closest to Ukraine in values, alongside Germany and France, and is ranked first among countries that young Ukrainians believe support and encourage the values they consider important in the 21st century.
Trust raises expectations. The values young Ukrainians most want the world to support help define those expectations: a just and lasting peace or ending armed conflict (50%), freedom (42%) and equality (33%).
What that means for the British Council in Ukraine
At the British Council, we work through partnerships shaped by Ukrainian expertise and local needs.
In practice, this means:
- Building activity with Ukrainian partners so it fits real needs and context
- Connecting institutions and people in Ukraine and the UK so relationships can continue beyond individual projects
- Strengthening skills, systems and professional networks so Ukrainian organisations can lead, adapt and grow.
One part of the Ukraine findings helps explain why this approach matters. In total, 41% of respondents say Ukraine should prioritise its national interest, while 22% want an equal balance between national interest and international cooperation. That reads as a clear call for partnerships that reinforce Ukraine's resilience and future capacity.
What we deliver in practice
That is why much of our work sits in education and culture - sectors where cooperation can be sustained, scaled and owned locally.
In education, we focus on strengthening English language teaching, working with teachers, schools, universities and the Ministry of Education. Early on, we supported professional development by co-creating an English as a Foreign Language curriculum and a framework for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) framework with the Ministry, piloted across 14 pedagogical universities. As reform gathered pace, our Teaching for Success approach scaled up professional development through a train-the-trainer model. Around 17,000 teachers took part over two years and the programme was then adopted further through teacher training institutes.
When disruption intensified - first Covid-19 and then Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine - we trained more than 1,500 teachers and developed SWITLO, helping educators build communities of practice and structured peer support. We also support lasting links between institutions: through UK-Ukraine school partnerships, we pair UK schools with Ukrainian counterparts to build sustained connections and support student wellbeing through a joint reading project.
In higher education, British Council Ukraine supports capacity building for academic leaders and managers, helping universities strengthen strategic planning, governance and international engagement. We also foster collaboration between UK and Ukrainian universities, creating partnerships that enable shared learning and long-term institutional links.
In culture, we work through strong institutions and trusted relationships, including with the Ukrainian Institute and the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. A recent step is the launch of the Ukraine-UK Commission on Culture under the UK-Ukraine 100-Year Partnership Agreement, which will develop a shared plan for collaboration, including work to preserve and restore cultural heritage damaged by Russian aggression. We have recently signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Ukrainian Institute and the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, strengthening institutional partnership in support of Ukraine's cultural identity.
A standard worth taking seriously
The Global Perceptions 2025 findings for Ukraine offer both a clear picture of what feels most urgent to young people and a benchmark for partnership. If trust raises expectations, it also sets a direction for what should come next.
For British Council Ukraine, that means we do not stop here and keep building cooperation across education and culture, expanding opportunities for young people, supporting institutions to lead and adapt, and developing further UK-Ukraine partnerships that remain practical and rooted in local priorities.