Number of Ukrainians accusing authorities of insufficient preparation for invasion has increased – poll

The vast majority of Ukrainians believe that Ukraine has not done enough to prepare for the invasion, while the number of those who accuse the authorities of insufficient efforts is growing – these are the results of a survey published by KIIS.

According to sociologists, 78% of respondents consider the preparation insufficient. Of these, 28% believe that Ukraine has made insufficient efforts, although it has done something. And the remaining 50% believe that Ukraine’s efforts in preparation were completely insufficient (the share of those who believe so increased from 44% in September to 50% in December).

The share of respondents who believe that Ukraine has done more or less enough to prepare is 15% (in September it was almost the same – 16%). Of these, 10% believe that Ukraine has done more or less enough, although there were some miscalculations. And 5% believe that Ukraine has done everything completely enough.

Among those who consider the preparation insufficient, the largest number of respondents said that the political authorities failed to make the necessary efforts (49% among those who believe that Ukraine was not ready; in September 2025 it was 46%, in February – 41%, that is, there is a growing trend throughout the year).

In addition, quite a few respondents said that the population itself did not believe and was not prepared (29%, in September – 35%), about the influence of pro-Russian forces and agents (18%, previously – 17%), that the military command was unable to make due efforts (15%, previously – the same number), that Russia had too many resources (13%, previously – 21%), about insufficient support from the West (11%, previously – 15%), and that it is objectively impossible to prepare and take everything into account during this period (10%, previously – 14%).

In all regions, respondents most often spoke about the efforts of political authorities (slightly more in the West and Center, slightly less in the South and East) and that the population itself did not believe.

As noted by the executive director of KIIS A. Hrushetsky, among Ukrainians there is a strong demand for justice in the results of the great war, which, in particular, includes punishment of those responsible for possible insufficient preparation for the invasion. At the same time, in addition to the function of punishment, it is important to identify miscalculations and take them into account for the future. Especially if at some point a “peace agreement” is indeed reached with such a configuration that will mean that Russia will continue to pose a threat to Ukraine.

In a KIIS survey in September 2025, only 10% of Ukrainians believed that if a peace plan from Europe and Ukraine were implemented (which was generally perceived then and now as difficult but acceptable, and which included security guarantees), Russia would not attack Ukraine again (instead, 56% believed that Russia would try to attack again). Therefore, it is certainly important to take into account the experience of preparing for the events of February 2022.

The survey was conducted on November 26-December 13, 2025. 1,000 respondents were surveyed using the method of telephone interviews (computer-assistedtelephoneinterviews, CATI) based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers (with random generation of phone numbers and subsequent statistical weighting) in all regions of Ukraine (the territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine). The survey was conducted with adult (aged 18 and older) citizens of Ukraine who, at the time of the survey, lived in the territory of Ukraine controlled by the Government of Ukraine. The statistical error did not exceed 4.1% for indicators close to 50%, 3.5% for indicators close to 25%, 2.5% for indicators close to 10%, 1.8% for indicators close to 5%.

Also follow “Pryamim” on Facebook , Twitter , Telegram , and Instagram .