Ukrainians’ hopes for quick NATO and European Union membership are starting to weaken – survey

Ukrainians’ hopes for quick membership in NATO and the European Union are beginning to fade, and approval of the leadership of Ukraine’s largest military sponsor, the United States, is falling.

These are the results of a poll by the American company Gallup.

In 2024, the number of Ukrainians expecting NATO membership within the next ten years has decreased. A year ago, more than 60% held this expectation, but now it is down to 51%.

At the same time, 22% believe that Ukraine will never be accepted into the alliance, which is about twice as high as in previous years.

Skepticism regarding EU membership is following a similar trajectory. In 2022-2023, 73% of Ukrainians believed their country would join the European Union within the next ten years. Now, that figure has dropped to 61%.

Moreover, 15% believe Ukraine will never join the EU, which is twice as high as last year’s figure.

Approval of U.S. leadership in Ukraine is also falling. In 2024, it returned to pre-war levels at 40%, although it had risen to 66% following Russia’s invasion, which at the time was one of the highest approval ratings in the world.

At the same time, the number of Ukrainians who disapprove of U.S. actions has sharply increased to 37%, compared to just 16% after Russia’s invasion.

It is also worth noting that more than half of Ukrainians believe that Ukraine should be prepared to concede part of its territory in exchange for peace.

Earlier, a similar proportion of Ukrainians—52%, according to a Gallup poll—supported the idea of quickly ending the war and engaging in negotiations.