The press release was prepared by Anton Hrushetskyi, executive director of KIIS

During May 16-22, 2024, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted its own all-Ukrainian public opinion survey "Omnibus", to which, on its own initiative, it added questions about what, in the opinion of Ukrainians, the current level of unity of Ukrainian society is and what causes the possible disunity. By the ethod of computer-assistedtelephoneinterviews(CATI) based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers (with random generation of phone numbers and subsequent statistical weighting), 1,067 respondents living in all regions of Ukraine (territory under the control of the Government of Ukraine) were interviewed. The survey was conducted with adult (aged 18 and older) citizens of Ukraine who, at the time of the survey, lived on the territory of Ukraine controlled by the Government of Ukraine. The sample did not include residents of territories that are temporarily not controlled by the authorities of Ukraine (at the same time, out of 1,067 respondents from February 22 to 24, 2022, lived in the territory that is currently occupied), and the survey was not conducted with citizens who went abroad after February 24, 2022.

Formally, under normal circumstances, the statistical error of such a sample (with a probability of 0.95 and taking into account the design effect of 1.1) did not exceed 3.4% for indicators close to 50%, 3.0% for indicators close to 25%, 2.1% - for indicators close to 10%, 1.5% - for indicators close to 5%.

Under conditions of war, in addition to the specified formal error, a certain systematic deviation is added. Factors that can affect the quality of results in "wartime" conditions were previously cited by KIIS.

In general, we believe that the obtained results are still highly representative and allow a fairly reliable analysis of the public moods of the population.

The unity and cohesion of Ukrainian society was and remains one of the most important factors why Ukrainians thwarted Russia's aggressive plans and continue to effectively repel the invaders. That is why the attempt to undermine the unity of Ukrainians remains one of the leading vectors of the enemy's actions and actually constitutes one of the greatest dangers for Ukraine.

KIIS, in its own surveys, in particular, investigates the issue of narratives of the split and how much Ukrainians believe in them[1]. At the same time, the question of how Ukrainians themselves perceive the level of unity of Ukrainian society is also important. We asked respondents to rate the level of societal unity on a scale from "complete disunity prevails" to "complete unity prevails" (with an option of "equally elements of unity and disunity" in the middle). In addition, we asked respondents who do not believe that complete unity prevails to explain their opinion in an open form.

As can be seen in the graph below, in general 44% of Ukrainians believe that there is unity in Ukrainian society now (although 10% of them believe that we are talking about complete unity, and the remaining 34% are more inclined to think that there is unity). Three times less respondents (15%) believe that now in Ukraine it is worth talking about disunity. At the same time, a third of Ukrainians (36%) believe that in society now "there are elements of unity and disunity in equal measure".

Graph 1. How would you rate the level of unity of Ukrainian society? Please rate from 0 to 10, where 0 - complete disunity reigns, 5 - there are elements of unity and disunity in equal measure, and 10 - complete unity reigns.

If the respondents rated the level of unity of the society on 0-8, that is, believed that there are certain elements of disunity, we asked an additional question in an open form, what exactly causes disunity. A complete list of responses can be found in the Annex, and the most popular responses are shown in the graph below. In total, 90% of such respondents gave a meaningful answer, and the data in the graph is calculated for those who were able to explain their opinion.

The respondents gave many different explanations and you can see a rather colorful picture (and there is no single reason that most respondents would name). Relatively most respondents explained the presence of elements of disunity in society:

• Cases of corruption (16%). To illustrate, as one respondent noted: "a lot of people are profiting from this war", "corruption is flourishing everywhere";
• Language issue (14%). Most of the respondents did not say what exactly they mean, i.e. it could be either insufficient support for the Ukrainian language or a question of the status or use of the Russian language. Among those who gave more detailed answers, there were both explanations ("discrimination against people who speak Russian", "there should be gentle Ukrainization");
• Lack of competence in the authorities, distrust of the actions of the authorities and official information from the authorities (13%). "Untimely adoption of the necessary laws", "there are no complaints against the population, there are complaints against the authorities";
• It is unfair that different people experience war in different ways (11%). "Not all regions feel the threat of war", "there is no mutual understanding between those who are at the front and those who are in the rear";
• Lack of mutual understanding and mutual assistance, "everyone for himself" (9%). "Everyone takes care of themselves", "people don't support each other";
• Availability of collaborators and those who are waiting for Russia (9%). "There are pro-Russian people who believe that it will be better with Russia", "many "zhduny", especially among the older generation".

Other answers should also be taken into account (in particular, see the complete list in the Annex, where, in particular, there is a regional distribution).

Graph2. And why exactly do you see a certain disunity in Ukrainian society?

open question, top answers, % among those who rated the level of unity on 0-8 and were able to answer the question

Although in all regions no more than a quarter talk about the predominance of disunity, but at the same time there is a downward trend in the assessment of unity from the West to the East. If in the West 50% see exactly unity, then the indicator decreases to 36% in the East (at the same time, the share of those who see exactly disunity increases from 8% to 25%).

At the same time, the structure of explanations (see Appendix) is quite close. It is worth paying special attention to the sensitive language issue. Yes, if in the West and in the Center, respectively, only 13% and 10% (among those who see a certain disunity) explained it as a language issue. In the South, there are 21% of them (that is, a little more, but in fact it is a clear minority), in the East - 11% (that is, the same number as in the West or in the Center). At the same time, in the East, regional differences (in particular, the opposition of West vs. East) were somewhat more often discussed (11% versus 2-5% in other regions). That is, it is important to emphasize that the main reasons for disunity do not include issues of language or regional affiliation.

Graph 3. Assessment of the level of unity of Ukrainian society by region of residence

Russian-speaking Ukrainians feel disunity somewhat more acutely - among them, 33% believe that disunity is more likely to occur in Ukraine now. Although at the same time, 33% see rather unity, and 33% see unity and disunity equally.

However, among Russian-speaking Ukrainians who see certain elements of disunity, only 28% explain it as a language issue (among Ukrainian-speaking Ukrainians - 9%, among those who speak both Ukrainian and Russian languages - 11%).

Graph 4. Assessment of the level of unity of Ukrainian society in terms of the language of communication at home

Higher trust in the President is associated with better assessments of the unity of society. Among those who do not trust the President, 31-34% believe that there is rather unity in society. At the same time, among those who rather trust the President - 47%, among those who completely trust the President - 61%.

It should be noted that the presence of a connection does not allow us to draw conclusions about what is the cause and what is the effect. Perhaps a better perception of the activities of the President / authorities contributes to a more positive assessment of the situation in society. However, it can also be the other way around – a more pessimistic view of the situation in society can influence a worse perception of government actions (and this process can also move in two directions at the same time).

Graph 5. Assessment of the level of unity of Ukrainian society in terms of trust in President V. Zelenskyi

Finally, we propose to see how Ukrainians react to criticism of the government depending on how they evaluate unity[2]. Among those who rather see unity or at least elements of unity and disunity in equal measure, the vast majority (67-68%) want to see criticism of the government constructive or not at all. Only a quarter of such respondents believe that there should be harsh, uncompromising criticism.

Among those who already see mainly disunity, 49% insist on harsh, uncompromising criticism, and the same number of 49% - that criticism, if any, should remain within a constructive framework.

Graph 6. Attitude to criticism of government actions in terms of assessing the level of unity in society

A. Hrushetskyi, comments on the survey results:

Considering the objective circumstances of the current situation, the assessment of social unity is at a fairly good level for the country. And, obviously, it is better than focusing on the flow of negative information in social media.

At the same time, there are disturbing trends and the urgent issue of strengthening the faith of Ukrainians that we all preserve unity and stand against the enemy with a united front. As could be seen, a rather varied set of reasons determines citizens' critical assessments, so there is no simple "recipe for success" to strengthen unity. And in addition to the lack of a "simple solution", this issue is not the exclusive domain of government. That is, the government is indeed responsible, but so are the media, civil society, and ordinary citizens. We emphasize that Ukrainians mainly expect a constructive dialogue, and not an uncompromising "holy war" against the authorities.

In addition, a review of the reasons for disunity given by citizens creates a persistent impression that many of them share a strong reaction to "injustice" (which can manifest itself in different ways and in different spheres). According to the results of KIIS surveys, consistently more than 70% of Ukrainians claim that they are ready to endure the war as long as it will be necessary for Ukraine to achieve success. However, the demand for a fair distribution of the wartime burden among citizens is becoming more and more acute. In the near future, special attention should be paid to the sense of justice among Ukrainian citizens.

Finally, it is important to touch again on a potentially sensitive topic that is still being used by the enemy against us. KIIS surveys prove that the issue of the Russian language is actually being depoliticized in the eyes of the population and we have a more pronounced consensus[3]. And Ukrainians on this issue (and, by the way, on many others) actually have quite prudent and moderate considerations. Thus, Ukrainians mostly do not share "radical proposals", but follow a calm evolutionary path - they use the Ukrainian language more (among Russian-speaking Ukrainians, more than 60% use the Ukrainian language more since the beginning of the invasion, and in this survey, almost 70% of Russian-speaking citizens chose the Ukrainian language to be interviewed), communicate more with children in the Ukrainian language and believe that it should be studied in schools, respect the Ukrainian language as an important symbol, etc. At the same time, objectively for many (especially middle-aged/older people and in predominantly Russian-speaking regions at the moment), the complete transition from Russian to Ukrainian is difficult, so it is worth understanding that changes in the language landscape take place over a longer period, we can even talk about generations (and we we are moving through this process).

It was possible to see that in reality the minority of Ukrainians (and the minority of Russian-speaking Ukrainians) see disunity over the issue of language. However, these responses are still noticeable and should not be ignored. We must continue a calm constructive dialogue within society, without radicalism, but with effective consensus measures. After all, we are all Ukrainians. Among Russian-speaking citizens, more than 70% (as well as more than 70% of those who spoke about the language issue) primarily identify themselves as citizens of Ukraine. Together we will be able to repel the enemy and build a solidary society.

Annex 1. Formulation of questions from the questionnaire

How would you rate the level of unity of Ukrainian society? Please rate from 0 to 10, where 0 is complete disunity, 5 equal elements of unity and disunity, and 10 complete unity.

[IF 0-8 IN PREVIOUS QUESTION] And why exactly do you see a certain disunity in Ukrainian society? OPEN QUESTION. INTERVIEWER! WRITE THE RESPONDENT'S COMPLETE ANSWER LITERALLY.

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A complete list of answers to the open question: