Ukrainians’ biggest fears are massive shelling and power outages

This is evidenced by the results of a poll conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation together with the Center for Political Sociology, Ukrinform reports.

According to the poll results, 60% of the country's population expect massive attacks on cities in the coming months, 45% - electricity, heat or water supply outages, 40% - increase in prices for essential goods.

Other likely security threats, according to Ukrainians, are corruption in government bodies (34%) and a new offensive by Russian troops (30%). Almost a quarter of respondents predict that the situation with environmental pollution and the use of nuclear weapons by the Russian Federation will worsen in the near future.

For financially vulnerable segments of the population, compared to financially stable respondents, the threat of a shortage of essential goods (+19%) and a sharp increase in prices for such groups of goods (+11%) are relevant.

At the same time, the vision of the three main security threats is common throughout the country regardless of the respondent's macro-region of residence.

In addition, for Ukrainians living in the western and central regions, the issues of corruption and the new offensive of the Russians are acute. In the east, residents are more concerned about the use of nuclear weapons and environmental pollution. In the southern regions, citizens are seriously worried about the spread of diseases or epidemics which should also be considered a consequence of the flood after the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP dam.

At the same time, only 15% and 11% of respondents, respectively, believe that the cessation of military and economic support from the West is likely.

Respondents also often mentioned material and financial threats and threats to life and health.

For 45% of the polled Ukrainians, their families will face an acute threat of health deterioration or loss of life as a result of military operations in the near future.

About 33% of Ukrainians are afraid of losing their sources of income. Among other problems that worry about a quarter of citizens: separation from family members and mobilization of one of the family members.

At the same time, as noted in the study, citizens who depend on social benefits worry about the possible loss of sources of income less compared to others. At the same time, the threat of hunger and the inaccessibility of treatment and medical assistance is more urgent for them.

In general, according to the poll results, about 10% of the population in Ukraine now live below the poverty line. 41% of respondents only have enough money to meet the minimum needs for survival. Compared to December 2022, the situation has not changed. At the same time, unemployed Ukrainians who, due to their age or health, are unable to get a job, have the worst financial situation. Among such respondents, 21% live below the poverty line, compared to 12% of the unemployed and 4% of the employed. At the same time, among the poorest group of citizens, 52% will not be able to find a job due to age or health.

The poll was conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation together with the Center for Political Sociology using the face-to-face method on June 5-15, 2023. A total of 2,001 respondents aged 18 and older were polled in all Ukraine-controlled regions where military operations are not taking place. The maximum random sampling error does not exceed 2.3%.