Ukrainians believe Ukraine should hit facilities in Russia – survey

A total of 90% of Ukrainians are convinced that Ukraine should strike military and other targets on the territory of Russia, the aggressor state.

Source: a survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), conducted on 23–29 January

Quote: "Both in February 2023 and January 2026, 90% believe that Ukraine should strike Russian territory. At the same time, the number of those who speak of strikes only on military targets has decreased from 38% to 10%."

Details: Currently, 80% of respondents believe that Ukraine should strike not only military targets but also other facilities (up from 52% in February 2023).

In particular, 7% believe strikes should target military and oil and gas infrastructure, while 48% also include Russia's energy sector.

"And 25% generally believe that Ukraine should strike at the Russian population (an increase from 13% in February 2023)," the KIIS said.

Why this matters: Ukraine's defence forces are striking Russian military plants, weapons and ammunition depots, airfields from which Russian bombers take off, and oil refineries that supply the Russian army with fuel and lubricants.

For reference: The survey was conducted from 23 to 29 January. Using telephone interviews based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers, 1,003 respondents aged 18 and over were surveyed, all of whom were living in territory controlled by the Ukrainian government at the time of the survey. Residents of territories temporarily not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities were not included (although some respondents were internally displaced persons who had moved from occupied areas), and citizens who left the country after 24 February 2022 were also not surveyed.

Under normal circumstances, the statistical margin of error for such a sample (with a probability of 0.95 and taking into account a design effect of 1.3) would not exceed 4.1%. Under wartime conditions, in addition to this formal margin of error, there is some systematic bias, but sociologists believe the results remain highly representative and allow for a fairly reliable analysis of public sentiment.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!