Survey: Citizens of five countries support inviting Ukraine to NATO before end of war
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The survey shows that citizens of five countries, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the USA, publicly support the beginning of Ukraine's accession to NATO even while the war continues.
Rubryka reports, citing the results of a Kantar survey commissioned by the New Europe Center.
Given the NATO summit in Vilnius, where Ukraine expects to receive an invitation to join the alliance, citizens of the five countries that are part of the bloc were asked what NATO actions they hope for.
If we consider the two most popular answer options together — "invite Ukraine to become a NATO member despite the war" and "invite Ukraine to become a member of NATO, but with actual accession after the end of the war" — the support of the majority of citizens is noticeable in all countries where the survey was conducted.
The level of support for these two combined options ranges from 50% to 56% in the EU countries surveyed, while in the US, this option is preferred by 70% of respondents.
The greatest opposition to Ukraine's membership in NATO is observed in Germany (22%) and the least in the USA, where only 12% oppose it. The figures in other countries are 17% in France, 19% in Italy, and 16% in the Netherlands.
The survey offered an alternative answer for the most cautious supporters of Ukraine's accession to NATO: "to wait with the invitation until the war is over." This answer was preferred by about a quarter of respondents, with the highest support in the Netherlands (29%) and the lowest in the US (19%).
The same survey showed that citizens in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the USA consider regime change in Russia the most effective prerequisite for ensuring long-term peace in Ukraine.
As Rubryka reported, the leaders of Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Ukraine, Finland, and Sweden issued a joint statement on Wednesday following the summit in Helsinki, where they supported the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine.
