When Putin launched his full-scale invasion in February 2022, 46% of Ukrainians spoke Russian at home while 53% used Ukrainian. By August 2025, those numbers had flipped dramatically: 68% now speak Ukrainian daily, compared to just 30% using Russian, according to new survey data from Gradus Research.

The cultural revolution Putin didn’t plan

The speed of this shift, documented in the new Gradus Research survey, reveals how quickly societies can remake themselves under existential pressure. Putin justified his invasion partly as protecting Russian speakers from supposed persecution. Instead, his war has accelerated the voluntary abandonment of the Russian language across Ukraine faster than any government policy ever could.

Three years of bombardment have accomplished what decades of independence couldn’t: the near-elimination of Russian as Ukraine’s second major language. Every missile strike, every destroyed home or hospital, and every forced evacuation has severed another cultural thread linking Ukrainian families to Moscow.

What optimism looks like under fire

Despite constant military pressure, Ukrainian confidence in their personal future has slightly increased, rising from 61% last year to 64% this year. The change is modest, but its meaning is significant—it suggests a society that hasn’t broken under the weight of prolonged conflict.

23% say they don’t believe in a better future, while 12% remain uncertain. But the trend points away from despair, even as the war grinds through its fourth year.

Unity forged by a common enemy

The survey also reveals how external threats reshape internal bonds. When asked what unites them most, 67% of Ukrainians point to their “common enemy”—a stark reminder that national solidarity now depends heavily on opposition to Russian aggression.

This suggests Ukrainian unity is more situational than organic, held together primarily by the external threat rather than shared cultural foundations.

Yet this wartime solidarity has proven durable. Three years of conflict have tested Ukrainian society’s cohesion without breaking it, even as internal divisions over leadership decisions (50%), political views (47%), and social inequality (47%) persist beneath the surface.

Preparing for the peace to come

Ukrainian expectations for post-war reconstruction reveal a society already thinking beyond survival mode. When asked about opportunities after victory, 45% prioritize continued defense strengthening—though this represents a decline from 52% in previous years, suggesting growing confidence in Ukraine’s military capabilities.

Other leading hopes include:

• Modernizing infrastructure (40%)
• Gaining global economic support (39%)
• Fostering business and entrepreneurship (36%)

But the list of challenges tells a more complex story, as people prioritize the following:

• Economic recovery (57%)
• Rebuilding cities and infrastructure (54%)
• Veteran reintegration (51%)
• Security in occupied territories (51%)
• Healthcare system reconstruction (42%)

The society Putin is actually facing

The Gradus survey, conducted among 1,000 Ukrainians aged 18-60 in cities with over 50,000 residents, captures a nation in the middle of profound transformation.

The 2025 Independence Day survey documents how Ukraine has used wartime pressures to accelerate the national consolidation Moscow sought to prevent. The dramatic shift in daily language use represents one of modern European history’s most rapid cultural transformations.

Moscow’s stated goal of protecting Russian speakers has instead coincided with the steepest decline in Russian language use since Ukraine’s independence.

Former Ukrainian Ambassador to the US Valerii Chaly believes that Russia’s agreement to negotiations is an information operation to buy time and avoid sanctions. Chaly emphasizes that Russia’s ceasefire memorandum has long been published, and the Kremlin’s positions remain largely unchanged, Radio NV reports. 

In August 2025, Putin declared that the conditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine remain:

• Ukraine must fully withdraw its troops from the so-called Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, which Russia claims as its own,
• Ukraine must renounce NATO membership and adopt a neutral, non-aligned, and non-nuclear status,
• The Kremlin demands the lifting of Western sanctions imposed due to its aggression.

Ukraine and its international partners reject these demands as unacceptable since they imply capitulation.

“Russia understands it can still buy time… it’s simply a stunt,” says diplomat Chaly.

However, he admits some Russian demands may have softened, such as Ukraine’s neutrality or the official status of the Russian language.

A trap for Ukraine — US pressure to accept unpopular decisions

Chaly warns that the Americans, as mediators, may pressure Kyiv to accept terms unsupported by Ukrainian society.

“Trump is already out of the game, we are left alone with the Russians, and Ukraine is essentially blamed for breaking agreements. Then the war goes on Russia’s terms, no sanctions, and existing sanctions start to be lifted. That’s the trap,” he says. 

Thus, the Kremlin could achieve the legalization of occupation.

Russia may offer “commercial” concessions

The diplomat suggests Russia might offer the US joint access to natural resource development as a bargaining chip to pressure Kyiv.

“The Russians present it as a ‘gift’ in exchange for American pressure on Ukraine to accept maximum Russian ultimatums,” Chaly adds.

He stresses Ukraine must remain vigilant against such traps, as “Russians are skilled at setting them,” and that it is premature to expect a genuine peace process.

One such trap would be Ukraine accepting the de facto recognition of occupied territories as Russian.

Ukraine needs strong allies at the negotiation table

Chaly underscores the risk of isolation if European countries are absent from peace talks.

“If Europe is not present, who will stand with us at the table?” he asks.

Ukraine must avoid empty formalities in negotiations.

“Because while Russia pretends to negotiate, it continues ballistic missile strikes on the front lines,” Chaly warns.