Despite Kremlin claims, 82% of Russian-speaking Ukrainians view Russia negatively, poll shows
The poll, conducted between April 24 and May 4, 2025, surveyed 2,021 Ukrainian citizens aged 18 and older in territories under Ukrainian government control. According to the survey, only 11% of respondents said they primarily speak Russian at home.
Of those, 82% said they had a negative view of Russia.
The results come as Russia continues to invoke the supposed plight of Russian-speaking communities to justify its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But the data suggests this narrative is widely rejected by those it claims to defend.
As recently as May 23, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed Moscow "cannot leave" Russian-speaking residents in Kyiv-controlled areas and would "protect them."
Only 13% of Russian-speaking respondents maintain a favorable opinion of Russia. By contrast, admiration for Western countries remains strong — 79% of respondents view France positively, and 75% feel the same about the United Kingdom.
The survey also found that 42% of respondents identified the European model of social development as the most attractive. Just 6% expressed a preference for the Russian model, further undermining Kremlin rhetoric about cultural and political alignment.
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Support for Ukraine's military remains resilient. Some 81.5% of those surveyed said they trust the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a reflection of sustained public confidence despite ongoing Russian attacks. Only 14% expressed distrust.
Before the war, many of the cities now devastated by Russian attacks and occupation — Mariupol, Kharkiv, Sievierodonetsk — were predominantly Russian-speaking.
Rather than protection, these regions have endured mass displacement, forced deportations, and indiscriminate bombardment by Russian forces.
The war has also catalyzed a national shift in language use.
According to a 2024 Rating Group poll, 70% of Ukrainians now speak exclusively or primarily in Ukrainian at home — up from 50% in 2015 and 46% in 2006.
In 2014, just after Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea, a separate Rating Group poll showed that 56% of Ukrainians already opposed granting Russian the status of a second state language.
Read also: Sanctions on Russia are working, Ukraine just needs more
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From what Trump and his envoy, Steve Witkoff, said right after Alaska and what Trump has said since is that Putin wants to end the war as much as others do. But on what terms? Putin had been unswerving in his intentions to return Ukraine to the Russian motherland whether through occupation or perhaps a puppet government subservient to Moscow. Students of Putin will say there is no unknown here. Putin's response will be unchanged. Yet, because Trump and Witkoff believe differently, there is at least some plausible doubt about how Putin will react. Interestingly, the comment was made that Putin will have to gain support from his cabinet, or what passes for it. But, does anyone believe that Trump will ask advice or concurrence from his advisers? Of course not. Both leaders are in charge. Most depressing is history. In Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq 2, the answer to Petraeus' question was crystal clear. We lost. In the case of Vietnam, the North's will to win won. When Congress cut off aid by 1975, Saigon would become Ho Chi Minh City. As Trump should realize, after he and the Taliban made the Doha Accords in 2020 without the presence of the Kabul government, it was do svidaniya, Afghanistan. And with the dissolution of the Iraqi army and dismissal of competent bureaucrats who were part of the Baathist Party, the fate was sealed. Assuming if they meet, and that is by no means a done deal, suppose Putin and Zelensky cannot agree on the land swaps. Or suppose sufficient security guarantees cannot be put in place. From Trump's position, he has done all he can to end the killings and the war. He, too, is likely to say that he tried and now it is up to the warring parties to make a deal. Trump would also argue that as Europe has agreed to shoulder the burden to rearm and supply Ukraine -- that while the United States is happy to sell weapons to Europe, we have done our duty. And make no mistake. Given Russia's overwhelming advantages in size and numbers, we know how this will end. Harlan Ullman is UPI's Arnaud de Borchgrave Distinguished Columnist, senior adviser at Washington's Atlantic Council, chairman of a private company and principal author of the doctrine of shock and awe. His next book, co-written with Field Marshal The Lord David Richards, former U.K. chief of defense and due out next year, is Who Thinks Best Wins: Preventing Strategic Catastrophe. The writer can be reached on X @harlankullman.
