According to the results of a sociological survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) in December 2024, the share of citizens in Ukraine who are ready to endure the burden of war "as long as necessary" is decreasing. This indicates a change in mood among Ukrainians, especially in the conditions of the modern military conflict, which affects the economy, social relations and the psychological state of citizens.
In particular, the survey participants were asked how much longer they are ready to endure the war.
The results of the study show a slight, but decrease in the share of those who are ready to endure the war "as much as it will be necessary." In December, this opinion was shared by 57% of surveyed citizens. Although 63% of respondents were ready for this in October 2024, and 73% in February last year.
At the same time, 3% are ready to endure the war for one year, and 3% for half a year. But 18% are ready to endure the war for several months. Another 18% were undecided.
Sociologists note that the share of those who talk about a shorter period of several months or half a year changed insignificantly in December compared to a similar survey in October. On the other hand, from 12% to 18%, there were more people who "difficult to say" how much longer they are ready to endure.
The researchers believe that between October and December, to a greater extent, there was not a decrease in the safety margin of Ukrainians, but an increase in uncertainty (which reflects the high uncertainty of a combination of external factors, such as the elections in the USA, and internal circumstances).
As Anton Grushetskyi, the executive director of KMIS, noted, the decrease in the share of those who are ready to endure the hardships of war as long as necessary is definitely a worrying trend that needs the attention of the authorities and society. "All the more, we see that the willingness to tolerate is not limited to socio-economic conditions, but in fact other factors are more important and determine the population's resilience," said Grushetskyi.
At the same time, he is sure that as of December 2024, Ukrainians demonstrate high resilience and a rather strong will to fight on, if we take into account the negative (and sometimes almost apocalyptic) "forecasts" that were prophesied for Ukraine and Ukrainians during 2024.
985 respondents were interviewed. The survey was conducted with adults (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, part of the respondents are IDPs who moved from the occupied territories), 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 1.3) 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%.
Other surveys of Ukrainians
As reported by UNIAN, the results of a survey conducted by the Rating group together with Gallup International, conducted on December 2-5, 2024, indicate that 45% of Ukrainians expect 2025 to be better than 2024, another 27% expect a deterioration, 20% believe that he will be the same. 8% are undecided about their expectations for 2025. Compared to last year, estimates shifted to more pessimistic expectations.
