Friday27 December 2024
vesti.org.ua

Sociologists have uncovered Ukrainian attitudes toward the restoration of nuclear weapons.

Ukrainians generally support the reinstatement of nuclear weapons, which the country renounced 30 years ago under the Budapest Memorandum. However, there are concerns about losing Western support.
Социологи выяснили, как украинцы относятся к восстановлению ядерного оружия.
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This is reported by RBK-Ukraine referencing survey data from KMIС. This information is also shared by Kontrakty.UA.

Researchers formulated three distinct questions regarding the restoration of nuclear weapons: without any additional positive or negative information; in the event of losing support and the imposition of sanctions from the West; and with the loss of Western support, but under the condition that Ukraine has enough resources to endure until nuclear weapons are developed.

Overall, 73% are in favor of the idea of restoring nuclear weapons. Those against it constitute 20% (and another 7% have uncertain views).

If support is lost and sanctions from the West are imposed, favorable attitudes toward restoring nuclear weapons decrease to 46%, while the percentage of those who would not support such an initiative rises to 44% (and the remaining 10% have uncertain views).

However, if Ukraine has sufficient resources to withstand until acquiring nuclear weapons, 58% would be willing to sacrifice Western support for the sake of obtaining nuclear arms. Those who would not support the decision to acquire nuclear weapons under this scenario stand at 33% (and the remaining 8% have uncertain views).

Attitudes in 1994

KMIС sociologists reminded that in mid-1994, 50% of Ukrainians believed that Ukraine should become a non-nuclear state, while 30% supported the possession of nuclear weapons. The remaining 20% had uncertain views.

At that time (1994), the issue of nuclear weapons was significantly less relevant in the minds of Ukrainians compared to other issues. When asked which problems concerned Ukrainians the most, only 5% included nuclear weapons in the list of top issues.

The survey was conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology from December 2 to 17, 2024, among 2,000 respondents.

As a reminder, in November, The Times reported that Ukraine could create a nuclear bomb within a few months if US aid is reduced.