Ukrainians consider NATO membership priority over EU membership

The majority of Ukrainians want to see the country in both the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance, but most consider accession to NATO a higher priority.

The survey conducted by Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) indicates that 90% of Ukrainians want to see Ukraine as a member of the EU, and 84% want to see Ukraine as a member of NATO.

In the event of a referendum on EU membership, 68% of all Ukrainians are ready to come to the polls and vote in favour. In the case of a referendum on NATO, the figure is also 68%.

Those who would vote against would be 9% (EU) and 10% (NATO).

Nevertheless, the poll shows that more Ukrainians want to see Ukraine join NATO more than the EU: 46% as opposed to 22%.

The KIIS noted that although membership in both alliances is important to the majority of the population, NATO is the priority. Obviously, this is due to Ukrainians’ acute demand for reliable security guarantees.

Sociologists have also noted that over the past year, the number of citizens who say that membership in any alliance should not be a priority has increased from 12% in October 2023 to 22% in December 2024.

Nonetheless, the number of those who speak of NATO membership has decreased: 54% earlier and 46% now. For the EU, the figures have hardly changed: 24% and 22%.

This survey consists of data from three KIIS polls conducted in 2024. All of them were conducted through telephone interviews and represented the adult population living on the territories controlled by the Ukrainian government.

It was recently reported that among Ukrainians who believe that Russia is running out of resources, more than 90% believe that Ukraine will be able to inflict significant setbacks on Russia with proper Western support.

The poll by the Rating Sociological Group also revealed that the number of Ukrainians who believe in Ukraine's imminent accession to the EU has dropped by almost 4.5 times compared to 2022, when it was over 60%.

In November, sociologists found out what part of Ukrainians was against any territorial concessions to Russia to end the war – even if they received NATO membership or security guarantees – and what part was in favour.

At that time, only 4-7% of Ukrainians found territorial concessions easy to accept.