Public opinion research indicates that skepticism towards Western countries and the United States is rising among Ukrainians. TSN reports this information from Kontrakty.UA.
Anton Hrushetsky, the Executive Director of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), shared this in an interview on Espreso.
"The level of trust in the U.S. and the West has decreased. This has happened less due to those who distrust these institutions and countries, and more because of those with an ambiguous attitude. In other words, there are aspects we trust and aspects we do not, and we lack a clearly formed opinion. Not long ago, we had greater conviction in our trust towards these institutions. Thus, skepticism towards the West and the U.S. is growing, and the reasons for this decline are quite clear," emphasized Hrushetsky.
Ukrainians acknowledge their critical dependence on Western countries and are very grateful for the assistance. However, they also believe that much of the aid was provided with significant delays.
"If two years ago only 15% of Ukrainians thought that the West wanted an unjust peace for Ukraine, now that figure has risen to nearly 40%. This leads to a decrease in trust, as many Ukrainians feel that the West does not want Ukraine to win or seeks a formula of 'not letting Ukraine lose, but also not letting it win.' This was especially evident in 2024. Currently, Ukrainians are trying to adopt a more pragmatic outlook," added Hrushetsky.
Recall that it was previously reported that Ukrainians shared their priorities regarding NATO or EU membership.
Additionally, we earlier informed that survey results showed how many Ukrainians trust Zelensky.