Ukrainians consider Ukraine’s NATO membership to be more important than joining the EU, showing the need for security has overtaken the desire for economic development, according to a recent Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) survey.
54% of Ukrainians would prefer to see Ukraine join NATO first, while 24% prefers that EU membership be prioritized. The rest of the population answered “neither” or could not answer
Respondents preferred NATO membership to the EU in every region.
It should be added that more than 4 in 5 Ukrainians believe that Ukraine’s future in Europe. 82% of Ukrainians believe that the country’s future as a prosperous, free country depends on whether it becomes a member of the EU, according to a Feb. 2023 poll.
More than 80% of the population supports Ukraine’s NATO membership.
Sociologists note that the recent KIIS survey quite expectedly show that Ukraine prioritizes security and economic development, which are the biggest drivers of support for European integration. At the same time, the priority between the EU and NATO shows that security is still the top factor.
Experts note that Ukrainians do not reduce European and Euro-Atlantic integration to utilitarian desires for protection and well-being. Both the EU and NATO are also value-based alliances.
Read also: Ukrainians not prepared to forego EU and NATO membership in exchange for peace, survey shows
Among Ukrainians, 95% want to see Ukraine as a fully functioning democracy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in Sept. 2022 that Ukraine was applying for NATO membership on an expedited basis. The document was signed by the president, as well as Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, and Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk.
In February 2023, Zelenskyy predicted that Ukraine would join NATO after the war with Russia ended.
In May, polls showed 89% support for NATO membership among Ukrainians. This figure is near a record high.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine