More Ukrainians believe that joining NATO is best option for security guarantees

That's according to a survey conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives foundation in cooperation with the Center for Political Sociology on June 5-15, 2023, Ukrinform reports.

According to the survey, 54% of respondents consider joining NATO to be the most desirable option among the possible security guarantees for Ukraine. Compared to last year's survey on the same issue, the share of NATO supporters among the population has increased by 5%.

According to the survey, 54% of respondents consider joining NATO to be the most desirable option among the possible security guarantees for Ukraine. Compared to last year's survey on the same issue, the share of NATO supporters among the population has increased by 5%.

The closest alternative to NATO in terms of the share of supporters is the conclusion of a strategic defense cooperation agreement with several countries that are currently in NATO. This scenario was supported by 16% of respondents. The least popular alternative is to rely solely on our own forces (8%).

Ukraine's accession to NATO is supported by the vast majority of respondents, regardless of gender, age, education level, or income.

Support for Euro-Atlantic integration is lowest in the southern regions. This applies to both the current population and those who lived in these regions before February 24. At the same time, other alternatives to security guarantees are more popular in the South than the national average. The model of a neutral status backed by international guarantees for Ukraine's sovereignty is particularly favored among the population of the South. In the South, this alternative is supported 12% more often than the national average.

The poll results also showed that among citizens who would support joining NATO while some territories remain occupied, 61% are confident that the war will end only if Ukraine becomes a part of the Alliance. Those who oppose joining NATO while some of the territories are occupied have taken this position because the vast majority of them (50%) believe that joining the Alliance will not stop the war with Russia.

At the same time, the vast majority (72%) of those who oppose joining NATO when part of the territory is occupied are not ready to give up joining NATO as a concession to Russia.

The survey was conducted face-to-face by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives foundation in cooperation with the Center for Political Sociology on June 5-15, 2023.

A total of 2001 respondents aged 18 and older were interviewed in Vinnytsia, Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhzhia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytsky, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi regions and the city of Kyiv (in Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Kherson regions - only in the territories controlled by Ukraine and where no hostilities are taking place).

The maximum random sampling error does not exceed 2.3%.