Ukrainians favour NATO membership more than EU: poll

Most Ukrainians believe that NATO membership is now a higher priority for Ukraine than membership in the European Union, a new opinion poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology shows.

The poll, conducted at the request of British historian and author Timothy Garton Ash, focused on what Ukrainians think of the importance of EU membership, the priority of joining the EU or NATO, and whether they deem Russia part of Europe.

The vast majority of Ukrainians continue to support Ukraine’s accession to both the EU and NATO, the results reveal.

However, 54 percent of Ukrainians surveyed believe that joining NATO is more important than joining the EU, which only 24 percent give a higher priority to—a trend observed in all Ukrainian regions.

For the vast majority of respondents, the desire for Ukraine's European integration is combined with the desire to disassociate itself from the aggressor country.

Almost 80 percent of Ukrainians support the establishment of borders, customs, visa regime, or other similar limitations with Russia, and many express doubts that Russia has anything to do with Europe: 41 percent of those surveyed believe that Russia does not belong in Europe at all.

The poll, conducted from 29 September to 9 October 2023 by telephone, included 1,010 Ukrainians aged 18 or older, from all regions except the temporarily occupied Crimea.