Survey reveals rising pessimism in Ukraine amid ongoing conflict

Social moods in the third year of the full-scale Russian invasion are shifting towards more pessimistic assessments of Ukraine's present and future, as reported by the Interfax-Ukraine agency.

The results of a survey conducted by the Institute of Social and Political Psychology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine from March 1 to 15 in collaboration with the Association of Political Psychologists of Ukraine highlighted these shifts.

More than half of the respondents (56.1 percent) currently view Ukraine's socio-economic and political situation as bad or very bad. In comparison, only a quarter (24.6 percent) consider it quite good or good. Sociologists note, however, that this division of opinions is not significantly different from the sentiments expressed on the eve of the full-scale invasion in 2022 when 52.2 percent described the country’s situation as bad or very bad, and 31.8 percent perceived it as good or quite good.

According to experts, residents of southern Ukraine are more likely to describe the situation as bad or very bad than other regions (62.1 percent). Negative assessments of the country's situation are less common among supporters of President Volodymyr Zelensky (49 percent) than among those in favor of the former Chief Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valerii Zaluzhny (59.1 percent) and former President Petro Poroshenko (64.3 percent).

Only one in four respondents (25 percent) expects the situation in the country to improve, while 42 percent believe that positive changes are unlikely or definitely will not happen. A year ago, optimists outnumbered pessimists among those surveyed (35 percent vs 30 percent). The south of Ukraine exhibits the highest percentage of respondents with positive expectations (44.1 percent), whereas the center has the lowest (18.4 percent).

One in three respondents (33.8 percent) believes current events in Ukraine are heading in the right direction. This figure has dropped from last year (50.8 percent) but is an increase from 2022 (29.3 percent).

The study, employing face-to-face interviews, surveyed 2000 respondents aged 18 and older in a territory controlled by the authorities in Kyiv.