Ukrainians' trust in NATO membership as security guarantee drops, poll shows
Only about 19.4% of Ukrainians consider a potential entry into NATO as the best possible security guarantee, a 10% drop from last year, according to a survey conducted by the Info Sapiens agency and published by the New Europe Center on Dec. 3.
Most respondents (31.1%) see Ukraine developing its own nuclear weapons — an idea previously rejected by Kyiv — as the best possible guarantee, underscoring "Ukrainians' disappointment in international support," New Europe Center said.
The study comes amid a fresh U.S. pressure on Ukraine to accept a peace deal with Moscow even at the cost of painful concessions, while the EU struggles to reach a consensus on a long-term funding plan for Kyiv.
Respondents were asked which security guarantee would be the most effective, with entry into NATO, provided that the allied protection covered only Ukraine-controlled territories, being one of the options.
Furthermore, the number of Ukrainians who say it would be "completely unacceptable" to give up on NATO aspirations as part of a peace deal with Russia dropped to 41.1% from 48.7% in 2024 and 56.9% in 2023.
The results of the survey, which was carried out between Nov. 5 and 26 with a study sample of 1,000 respondents, were released as NATO foreign ministers met in Brussels to discuss Euro-Atlantic security and Russia's war against Ukraine — with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio notably absent.
Ukraine applied to join NATO in 2022, the year Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Despite repeated reassurances of support, the allies have not extended a formal invitation to Kyiv, as several members opposed its entry.
This opposition was only solidified after the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration openly rejected Ukraine's NATO aspirations and sought instead to hammer out a peace deal with Russia.
Moscow has named a ban on Ukraine's accession to NATO as one of its key demands in negotiations, and sought to justify its full-scale invasion with Kyiv's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
