Almost half of Ukrainians support Ukraine's NATO accession without occupied territories, survey shows

A total of 47% of Ukrainians are ready to support Ukraine's accession to NATO if part of the Ukrainian territories remain occupied by Russia, as indicated by the poll.

Source: survey conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation in cooperation with the Razumkov Center sociological service, as reported by European Pravda 

Details: The survey was conducted from 29 November to 14 December 2024. 

In particular, in December 2024, 47% of respondents answered affirmatively to the question about supporting Ukraine's accession to NATO if part of the country’s territory remains occupied. This is 14% higher than in June 2023.

A total of 36% of respondents are not ready to support Ukraine's accession to NATO if part of its territory remains occupied, which is 16% less than in June 2023.

Respondents aged 50 and older (40%); respondents who lived in the eastern (36%), central (38%), and southern (48%) regions before the full-scale invasion; respondents living below the poverty line (46%); and respondents who have no family members in temporarily occupied territories (42%) were more likely to report being unwilling to support NATO membership if part of Ukraine's territory remains occupied.

According to 55% of respondents, the best option to ensure security for Ukraine is to join NATO.

A neutral status, backed by international guarantees, is supported by 12% of respondents.

Among the options offered, the respondents considered Ukraine's non-aligned status with restrictions on its own defence capabilities and reliance on its own capacity while maintaining defence capabilities to be less reliable in terms of the country's security–these scenarios were supported by 3% of respondents each.

60% of respondents feel that only Ukraine's accession to NATO will prevent Russia from launching another wave of aggression. Among other defence strategies that could be helpful in protecting against yet another invasion by Russia, respondents frequently highlighted restoring the country's nuclear status (39%).

The least effective of the proposed strategies, according to respondents, is the creation of a demilitarised zone on the line of contact, regardless of whose troops will be involved in its control.

Ukraine's accession to NATO and the restoration of its nuclear status are the most popular responses among all respondents, independent of their macro-region of residence prior to the full-scale invasion, financial circumstances, or if they had family members in temporarily occupied territory.

Face-to-face were conducted with 1,518 respondents aged 18 and up from all government-controlled territories of Ukraine.

Background:

• Another poll showed that as of November, about 70% of Ukrainians were positive about the idea of Ukraine joining NATO in stages, similar to the way a divided Germany once did.
• For the first time, more than half of Polish citizens reportedly supported the idea that the war in Ukraine should be ended, even if it means giving up part of its territory or independence.

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