Although the absolute majority of Ukrainians support joining both the EU and NATO (and these processes are related and parallel for Ukraine), Ukrainians still form the idea of what is a higher priority for the country.
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This is evidenced by the results of a survey by the Kyiv Institute of Sociology (KIIS).
Thus, 54% of Ukrainians believe that membership in NATO is now a higher priority. Prefer EU membership – 24% (the rest of the respondents either answered “neither one nor the other” or could not answer at all). At the same time, in all regions there are more people who prefer NATO to the EU.
According to the results of preliminary KIIS surveys, 82% of respondents agree that the future of Ukraine as a prosperous free country depends on whether it becomes a member of the EU (February 2023). At the same time, 92% of Ukrainians would like Ukraine to become a member of the EU, and 89% – a member of NATO (May 2023). That is, there is a consensus in society to support European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
However, it should be taken into account that the motives for supporting EU accession may differ among different Ukrainians.
During the survey, KIIS asked respondents the question “Ukraine’s membership in the European Union is of greatest importance for…” and offered a choice of five different motives. Respondents must select three from them and name them in order of importance.
The two main motives are ensuring long-term security (59% of respondents rank them among the top 3 motives) and economic prospects (57%). However, quite a lot of respondents also chose other motives: the future of Ukrainian democracy (44%, in particular every fifth considers this motive the most important), ensuring the rule of law (45%), international recognition of Ukraine’s place in Europe (41%).
In all regions of Ukraine, first of all, Ukrainians talk about security and economic motives for supporting European integration. Contras and other factors play an important role in all regions.
The survey was conducted September 29-October 9, 2023. KIIS conducted its own all-Ukrainian public opinion poll “Omnibus” using a computer-assisted telephone interview based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers (with random generation of phone numbers and subsequent statistical weighting). 1 thousand 10 respondents living in all regions of Ukraine controlled by the government were interviewed.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.