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

During February 4-9, 2025, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted its own all-Ukrainian public opinion survey "Omnibus", to which, on its own initiative, it added a question about what, in the opinion of Ukrainians, should be a priority for the Ukrainian public. By the method of telephone interviews (computer-assistedtelephoneinterviews, CATI) based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers (with random generation of phone numbers and subsequent statistical weighting) in all regions of Ukraine (the territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine), 1,000 respondents were surveyed. The survey was conducted with adult (aged 18 and older) citizens of Ukraine who, at the time of the survey, lived in the territory of Ukraine controlled by the Government of Ukraine. The sample did not include residents of territories temporarily not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities (at the same time, some of the respondents are IDPs who moved from the occupied territories), and the survey was not conducted with citizens who left 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 1.3) did not exceed 4.1% for indicators close to 50%, 3.5% for indicators close to 25%, 2.5% for indicators close to 10%, 1.8% for indicators close to 5%.

Under the conditions of war, in addition to the specified formal error, a certain systematic deviation is added. Factors that may 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.

A strong civil society is a necessary condition for a strong and independent Ukraine. At the same time, the Ukrainian public can make a significant contribution in various areas – from the defense of the state to focusing on internal issues. We decided in our survey to find out the opinion of Ukrainians, and what exactly should be a higher priority for the Ukrainian public now – public activists, journalists, citizens. To simplify, we offered two options: criticism and fight against the wrong actions of the authorities (i.e. focus on internal issues) or actions aimed at supporting the Defense Forces (i.e. focus on repelling external aggression).

As can be seen on the graph 1, the majority of Ukrainians – 60% – believe that the priority for the public should be to promote the Defense Force and repel Russian aggression. Believe that the priority should be to combat the wrong actions of the authorities – 26%. The remaining 14% could not decide on their opinion.

It is important to note that the survey was conducted in the first half of February 2025, before the start of negotiations between representatives of the US and Russia and, accordingly, before the aggravation of relations between Ukraine and the US. Given the pressure on Ukraine in the recent period, a process of unification is currently taking place and, most likely, the focus on supporting the Defense Forces would now be higher.

Graph 1. What do you think should be a greater priority for the Ukrainian public now – journalists, public activists, citizens, etc.?

The graph below shows the regional dimension[1]. In all regions, the majority favors focusing on promoting Ukraine's defense.

Graph 2. Priority for the Ukrainian public in the regional dimension

The graph below shows the data in terms of whether respondents trust or not V. Zelenskyi. Even among those who do not trust V. Zelenskyi, 37% believe that the priority should be to combat the wrong actions of the authorities. At the same time, 47% believe that it is necessary to focus on supporting the Defense Forces.

Among those who trust V. Zelenskyi, 69% believe that the priority should be to repel Russian aggression. 20% believe that the focus should be on domestic issues. 

 Graph 3. Priority for the Ukrainian public depending on whether they trust V. Zelensky or not

A. Hrushetskyi, comments on the survey results:

There remains a distinct demand for unity among Ukrainians, especially against the backdrop of aggravation of relations with the leadership of our strategic partner, the United States. Although we asked about the public, it is obvious that this is a demand for everyone - the government, the opposition, public activists and journalists, and ordinary citizens.

The actions of all these entities must be balanced and coordinated with a common goal - supporting Ukraine's defense capabilities and repelling Russian aggression. Love for Ukraine must be stronger than the destructive desire for personal revenge against those to whom we feel (even if justly) hostility. And this applies not only to the opposition, but also to the government, and to all of us.

Annex 1. Formulation of questions from the questionnaire

What do you think should be a greater priority for the Ukrainian public now – journalists, public activists, citizens, etc.?: RANDOMIZATION OF READING ORDER