Twenty-nine percent of citizens ready to defend Ukraine with weapons in their hands

This is evidenced by the results of a nationwide sociological poll which were made public during a press conference at the Media Center Ukraine–Ukrinform.

"The share of citizens who are ready to defend the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine with weapons in their hands is 29%. Among men – 44%, among women – 16%. In 2015, among all respondents, 17.5% gave such an answer," said Mykhailo Mishchenko, deputy director of the Razumkov Center sociological service.

Forty-two percent of respondents expressed readiness to protect the country by participating in the volunteer movement. In addition, 21% of respondents want their children to become professional soldiers and dedicate their lives to serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Also, according to the poll results, 76% of respondents want their children to live in Ukraine.

The research showed that compared to 2001, the share of those who would like to leave Ukraine to reside abroad permanently decreased from 32% to 11%.

"But here it is necessary to take into account the situation that a large part of those who intended to emigrate before the war could already do that after the start of the full-scale war," Mishchenko added.

The poll was conducted by the Razumkov Center sociological service from May 23 to 31, 2023 as part of the MATRA Program project, financed by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine. The face-to-face poll was conducted across the entire territory of Ukraine (in Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson regions, only in those territories that are controlled by the Government of Ukraine and where hostilities are not taking place). A total of 2,020 respondents over the age of 18 were polled. The theoretical sampling error does not exceed 2.3%.