Ukraine is among the countries whose residents have the lowest level of fear of a nuclear threat, according to a survey by the Sociological Group Rating conducted in 2023 together with Gallup International and published on April 17.
The poll showed that there are fewer respondents from Europe who think that the threat of nuclear weapons use is high in comparison to those in Asia, Africa, and South America.
Russia has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons in response to Western support for Ukraine, but the threats have so far failed to materialize. Russia continues to wage an all-out war in Ukraine without utilizing its nuclear arsenal.
"In general, there has been no significant reduction of fears of nuclear threat in the world during the year," the Sociological Group Rating said.
Two-fifths of respondents assess the risk of using nuclear arms as high; almost the same proportion sees it as moderate, while 14% believe there is no such risk, according to the poll.
Among European countries, Italy, Portugal and Romania reportedly have the highest fear of nuclear threat. Indonesia, Nigeria, Ecuador, Syria, and Argentina have the largest number of respondents who assessed the nuclear threat as high.
In contrast, Ukraine, along with Armenia, Pakistan, and Iran, has the highest percentage of people who think there is no such risk, according to the poll.
The younger group of respondents is the most pessimistic about the nuclear threat, the survey showed.
The survey was carried out in October-December 2023 in 41 countries. During the research, 40,428 people were interviewed, around 1,000 in each country.
In late 2022, Washington was "preparing rigorously" for a possible Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine, which would have been the first nuclear attack in a war since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1945 bombings, CNN reported in March, citing two unnamed U.S. officials.
Liliane Bivings
(Updated: )
