About half of Ukrainians feel armed conflict still taking place in the country

March 17, 2021

Poll shows people in Ukraine feel strongly that an armed conflict is still taking place, and that the government should develop an action plan for the transition from an armed conflict to peace

People wait in a line at the border crossing point in Mayorsk, Donetsk Oblast, in December 2016. Photo credit: Anastasia Vlasova / UNDP Ukraine

Kyiv, 17 March 2021 – Despite a ceasefire having been declared last year in eastern Ukraine, about half of Ukrainians (49 percent) feel that an armed conflict still is taking place in the country – a recent sociological poll shows.

The opinion poll was conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology at the request of the Working Group on the reintegration of the temporarily occupied territories of the Legal Reform Commission under the President of Ukraine. The poll had the aim of identifying public perceptions of state policy in the area of human rights during an armed conflict.

The sociological survey showed that 54 percent of Ukrainians think that an action plan for a transition from armed conflict to peace should be developed now. About 46 percent of respondents think that the development of such a plan should be initiated by the President of Ukraine, and about 18 percent think that this should be an initiative of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament.

The survey also showed that most Ukrainians believe that the government should take measures to support continued connections with the people living in non-government-controlled areas – about 75 percent of those polled said this.

According to the poll, among the first steps that the government should take following the reintegration of the non-government controlled territories should be the prosecution of those who committed crimes during the conflict (37 percent), the restoration of infrastructure and housing in the returned regions (34 percent), and the resumption of the work of the public authorities (28 percent).

The survey also indicated that the media (58 percent) and the Internet (50 percent) are the key sources of information for Ukrainians about the situation in the non-government-controlled areas of Ukraine.

The opinion poll was conducted in all oblasts of Ukraine, apart from the non-government-controlled areas, with the support of the Human Rights for Ukraine project, which is being implemented by UNDP in Ukraine with financing from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. The poll’s sampling is representative of the population of Ukraine aged 18+.

Media inquiries: Yuliia Samus, UNDP Ukraine Communications Team Leader, yuliia.samus@undp.org