NATO membership takes priority over EU membership for Ukrainians – survey

Alvina Kaminska

Most Ukrainians support Ukraine's membership in the European Union and NATO, with accession to the North Atlantic Alliance being a higher priority.

Survey data from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) evidenced this.

As sociologists noted:

• 90% of Ukrainians want to see their country as part of the EU,
• 84% — in NATO.

At the same time, the survey shows that more Ukrainians want to see Ukraine primarily in NATO than in the EU: 46% versus 22%.

This may be due to the population's demands for reliable security, mainly due to Russian aggression. Accordingly, although support for European integration remains high, membership in NATO is the highest priority for Ukrainian citizens.

In the event of a referendum:

• 68% of Ukrainians are ready to vote "for" accession to the EU and NATO;
• only 9% oppose accession to the EU, and 10% — to NATO.

^{Photo: KIIS}

Sociologists also drew attention to the fact that over the past year, more people have said that membership in any union should not be a priority: 12% in October 2023 and 22% in December 2024.

At the same time, fewer people say that membership in NATO should not be a priority: 54% previously and 46% now. For the EU, the figures have hardly changed: 24% and 22%.

^{Photo: KIIS}

This poll consists of data from three KIIS polls for 2024. All of them were conducted by telephone interviews and represent the adult population of the territories controlled by the Government of Ukraine.

For reference:

The share of Ukrainians who support Ukraine's accession to NATO if some of the territories remain occupied has increased to 47%. For comparison, a year and a half ago, only 33% supported this idea.

In addition, about 70% of Ukrainian citizens agree to join NATO, following the example of Germany, the western part of which joined the Alliance 40 years earlier than the eastern part.

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