The majority of Ukrainians obtain information from various Telegram channels; they still trust the president and do not believe in a fair judiciary without corruption; they hardly care about gender issues, and they have no plans of leaving Ukraine, even as the war continues taking its toll on them.
These are the resutls of a nationwide opinion survey conducted from 4 to 20 September this year by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KMIC) on behalf of the European Union Advisory Mission Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine).
In all fairness, hardly anyone was taken by surprise – the results of this survey had merely confirmed what the general public had already known.
For instance, those people who had always dreamt of emigrating from Ukraine were able to do so under the pretext of war, joining a massive influx of refugees heading towards the West. The survey did not explicitly mention this, but when asked whether they planned to move somewhere else, including abroad, 90% of the respondents answered negatively. Given the number of people who have always been eager to escape Ukraine hoping that the grass was greener on the other side, and the millions of refugees who have found shelter abroad, especially from relatively safe regions such as Galicia or Transcarpathia, the conclusion here is obvious.
Despite numerous reassurances from the state authorities, Ukrainians know very well that no amount of fanfare can replace genuine efforts to fight widespread corruption.
68% of Ukrainian citizens believe that in order for them to achieve justice, they have to pay someone who has a certain level of influence (in 2021, this number was 65%). Meanwhile, only 29% of the respondents are confident that an ordinary citizen is able to attain justice in Ukraine (in 2021, it was 25%).
The same applies to the sources Ukrainians use to keep up to date about the current events in Ukraine and around the world: nearly 44% of respondents are using various Telegram channels, where the trustworthiness of the content depends solely on the honesty of the channels’ admins; 43% rely on the information provided by the TV broadcasters and its omnipresent ‘Unified News’ programme (a so-called telemarathon broadcasted by Ukraine’s biggest media outlets altogether); another 36% are using information from YouTube channels, a content that is not verified by anyone; and the remaining 34% are reading online news publications. This is all you need to know about Ukrainian information front and Russia’s ability to sow total chaos among Ukrainians.
Nevertheless, Ukrainians do have reasons for optimism and pride. After the large-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, there has been an effect of ‘uniting around the national flag’: there is trust in governmental institutions, especially the president, which has significantly increased, with 73% of respondents now saying they fully trust the president.
77% of those surveyed believe that it is crucially important for Ukraine to join the European Union. However, only 27% of Ukrainians prefer an accelerated path of integration into the EU and fully approve all the laws and requirements of the union. Instead, the majority (60%) are willing to delay EU membership to allow Ukraine an opportunity to protect its interests during negotiations with the EU.
Additionally, based on the survey, those citizens who did not flee the war are willing to endure certain hardships associated with the lower living standards. At the same time the same people said they would continue donating to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In particular, nearly half (49%) of the respondents consider themselves low income households.
At the same time, one third (34%) stated that they only have enough funds to purchase food and essentials, while another 32% said they had to save up or borrow money to buy clothes or shoes, and 17% had to save on food altogether.
According to Ukrainians, who took part in the survey, the key task for the government and society at the moment is the fight against corruption. Nearly 90% of all respondents agree that this should be on top of government’s agenda. It even surpasses any matters related to the war, which are only in second place (77%). This shouldn’t come as a surprise though. Ukrainians know very well that corruption is their main enemy, at times more dangerous than Putin and Putin’s Russia, because it is corruption that undermines the country from within and prevents it from properly defending itself.
