DISINFO: Support for NATO in Ukraine is falling
SUMMARY
The number of people who support Ukraine’s accession to NATO is falling. The number of people who are against NATO and who support the union with Russia, together, is bigger than the number of NATO supporters. This has not been happening for a long time.
RESPONSE
This pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative suggests that Ukrainian pro-European and pro-NATO aspirations are weakening. This is a manipulative claim since all available recent polls show the highest ever support for NATO membership in Ukraine. A June 2019 joint poll by the Sociological Group Rating and International Republican Institute shows that the number of NATO supporters in Ukraine reached a historical maximum. Today, 53% of Ukraine support accession to NATO; 29% are against. Somewhat smaller, but still high support for NATO shows a poll conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv “Democratic Initiatives” Foundation. The August 2019 poll revealed that 41% of Ukrainians would like to see Ukraine as a NATO member. In comparison, only 13-16% of Ukrainians, on average, supported accession to NATO before 2014. The report concludes that the attitude towards NATO has changed dramatically after 2014: the number of NATO supporters has tripled. Polls conducted earlier this year by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology also confirm that support for NATO remains high. In February 2019, 40% of Ukrainian citizens supported Ukraine accession to NATO. Moreover, if on a referendum there were two possible answers - yes and no - 56% would vote "yes". See more disinformation cases on Ukraine and NATO.