Ukraine prepares to mark the 33rd anniversary of its renewed Independence amid the ongoing war with Russia. Two-and-a-half years into the full-scale invasion and a decade into Russia’s war, Ukrainians maintain a strong sense of morale.
A national poll conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the sociological service of the Razumkov Center between August 8 and August 15 found that an absolute majority of Ukrainians are proud to be Ukrainian and see their future in the country.
Presenting the survey results in a news conference in Kyiv on Thursday, Oleksiy Haran, Research Director at the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation said: “An absolute majority of Ukrainians (88 per cent) are proud to be Ukrainian. For the third year in a row, equally high shares of Ukrainians say they experience pride while thinking of themselves (90.5 per cent said so in 2022, 88.5 per cent in 2023, and 88 per cent in 2024). These numbers are the highest in years of polling on this question. The share remains high across all age groups.”
According to the survey, an absolute majority of Ukrainians (86 per cent) want to build their life in the country, with a solid majority (59 per cent) firmly choosing their future in Ukraine. The share is consistent for all age and earnings groups. Yet, the inclination to stay in Ukraine grows with age. While in the 18-to-29 age group 74 per cent of respondents said they wanted to build their life in Ukraine, it is 81 per cent in the 30-to-39 age group, 87 per cent in the 40-to-49 age group, 90 per cent in the 50-to-59 age group, and 93 per cent among those aged 60 and older.
Haran said the finding was one of the positive results that he didn’t expect. “Our survey rejects as untrue the idea that everyone wants to move abroad,” he said.
The poll traditionally gauged Ukrainian’s views on independence. “If a referendum proclaiming Ukraine’s independence were held today, an absolute majority of Ukrainians (85 per cent) would vote for independence,” Haran said.
Forty per cent of Ukrainians say the country is moving in the right direction and 37 per cent say that Ukraine is on the wrong track. This marks a decrease from 2023 when 49 per cent said the country was headed in the right direction. There are more men than women who tend to have a positive view of the country’s direction. Women make up a higher percentage of the undecided bloc than men.
Most of Ukrainians (61 per cent) say they experience the feeling of hope while thinking of their country. They also feel anxiety (40 per cent) and optimism (33.5 per cent), Haran said.
The pollsters conducted a series of face-to-face interviews in all regions of Ukraine under the government control, except for Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and in the capital city of Kyiv. In the regions of Zaporizhzhia, Mykolayiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson the survey was conducted in the government-controlled areas and not in areas of intense combat.
