The vast majority of Ukrainians believe that preparations for the invasion are insufficient
24 February 15:05
The vast majority of Ukrainians believe that Ukraine was not sufficiently prepared for a full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. According to a poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, 81% of respondents assessed the state’s preparations as insufficient, which is 29% more than in May 2022, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The main results of the survey show a significant increase in critical assessments of preparations for the invasion. While in May 2022, 52% of respondents considered the preparations insufficient, in February 2025, this figure rose to 81%.
Of these, 43% assessed the efforts as “completely insufficient” and 38% as “rather insufficient, although something has been done.”
Only 13% of respondents believe that Ukraine has made sufficient efforts (compared to 43% in May 2022).
The regional breakdown shows that in all macro-regions of Ukraine, the majority of the population believes that the efforts made are insufficient.
Reasons for insufficient preparedness
Among the reasons for insufficient preparedness, respondents name:
- 41% – the political authorities failed to make the necessary efforts.
- 32% – the population did not believe and did not prepare properly.
- 21% – the influence of pro-Russian forces and agents.
- 16% – insufficient support from the West.
- 15% – Russia had too many resources.
- 13% – the military command failed to make adequate efforts.
- 10% – it was objectively impossible to prepare in the available period.
Читайте нас у Telegram: головні новини коротко
Regional peculiarities
Regional peculiarities in the perception of the reasons for unpreparedness:
- West: 41% blame the political authorities, 32% – the population.
- Center: 45% blame the political authorities, 29% – the population.
- South: 42% blame the political authorities, 32% – the population.
- East: 26% blame the political authorities, 50% – the population.
KIIS Executive Director Anton Grushetsky in his commentary on the results reminded that as of the beginning of summer 2023, 78% of respondents had relatives or friends who suffered from the invasion. He emphasized the naturalness of society’s request for “truth” and “punishment of the guilty”, but called for avoiding victim-blaming, stressing that the only culprit for the invasion and its consequences is Russia and imperial-minded Russians.
Technical data of the survey
The study was conducted from February 2 to 6, 2025, at the request of the NGO Center for Strategic Communications “Forum”.
Research methodology:
- The survey was conducted by telephone interviews (CATI).
- A random sample of mobile phone numbers was used.
- 1000 respondents aged 18 and older were interviewed.
- Geography: all regions of Ukraine (government-controlled territory).
- Statistical sampling error: 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%.
The survey did not include residents of the temporarily occupied territories, although there were internally displaced persons from these regions among the respondents. Also, citizens who left the country after February 24, 2022 were not surveyed.
