Almost 80% of Ukrainians support closed borders, visas and customs with Russia

Some 79% of Ukrainians believe that there should be closed borders with visas and customs between Ukraine and Russia, according to a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

Only 11% believe that Ukraine and Russia should be independent but friendly states with open borders and without visas and customs. Only 1% of respondents are in favor of the two countries merging into one state.

According to sociologists, compared to the period before Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine (as of February 2022), the share of those who believe that there should be closed borders with visas and customs between Ukraine and Russia has increased from 44% to 79%. On the other hand, the share of those who are in favor of “friendly” relations between the two countries has decreased from 48% to 11%. The share of those who support unification into one state has decreased from 5% and 1%.

The survey also showed that in all regions most citizens (from 86% in the West to 70% in the East) believe that there should be closed borders with visas and customs between Ukraine and Russia. In addition, in all regions, compared to February 2022, the share of those in favor of closed borders has increased significantly. In particular, if the majority in the south and east were in favor of “friendly” relations back in February, now the overwhelming majority believes that there should be visas and customs between Ukraine and Russia.

At the same time, sociologists noted that in terms of linguistic and ethnic categories of the population of Ukraine, most citizens want closed borders between Ukraine and Russia, with visas and customs. Even among Russian-speaking Russians, 52% are in favor of closed borders, and 35% are in favor of “friendly” relations. Only 3% stated that Ukraine and Russia should merge into one state.

From July 6 to 20, 2022, KIIS conducted its own all-Ukrainian survey. Some 2,000 respondents living in all regions of Ukraine (except the Autonomous Republic of Crimea) were interviewed. The survey was conducted among citizens of Ukraine aged 18 and older who, at the time of the survey, lived in Ukraine (in areas controlled by the Ukrainian authorities before February 24, 2022). The sample did not include residents of areas temporarily not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities before February 24, 2022 (the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions). Also, the survey was not conducted with Ukrainians who left their country after February 24, 2022.