82% of Ukrainians believe that the future of Ukraine as a prosperous, free country depends on whether it becomes a member of the European Union, according to a poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.
The report notes that Russia's large-scale invasion in 2022 strengthened support for European integration and largely erased regional disparities. As of January 2022, 92% of Ukrainians want Ukraine to become a member of the EU, and depending on the region, the indicator is 88-94% (in particular, in the East, 88% support EU membership).
Respondents were asked several questions about various aspects of Ukraine's relations with the EU/West. According to the results of the survey, 82% of respondents agree that the future of Ukraine as a prosperous free country depends on whether it becomes a member of the EU (including fully agree - 50%). Do not agree with this – 14%.
In all regions of Ukraine, the absolute majority of the population believes that Ukraine's future prosperity depends on joining the EU. In particular, among residents of the East and South, 78% and 81% think so (against, respectively, 17% and 14% who disagree with this statement).
81% of Ukrainians believe that cooperation between Ukraine and the West to repel Russian aggression is a "win-win" situation, where both Ukraine and the West benefit. Among them, 45% believe that Ukraine and the West will win equally, and 29% believe that it is mostly a win for Ukraine, but there is also a win for the West. The remaining 7%, on the contrary, see an overwhelming win for the West, although Ukraine will also win.
Only 9% believe that this cooperation is only in the interests of Ukraine and only 4% believe that it is only in the interests of the West.
54% of Ukrainians believe that financial assistance should be accompanied by demands for reform, which we should listen to and which we should fulfil. However, the category "owe us", which implies the expectation of help without special conditions or restrictions (since Ukraine also protects Europe), is quite significant - 36%.
The last question in the survey is designed to understand the extent to which Ukrainians feel it is important to document the whole truth about the war.
In fact, this refers to a conditional "truth commission", which should forever preserve an objective picture of events. As can be seen, 88% of Ukrainians support the opinion about the need to document and preserve the true history of the war, even if it will be difficult to achieve full justice.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier emphasized that a year ago, Ukraine applied for membership in the European Union and was granted candidate status. This year, he said, it is time for the decision on the start of membership negotiations.