Surveys show that Ukraine has fundamentally changed. Today, up to 90% of citizens in every region, including the south and east, support Euro-Atlantic integration, says Anton Hrushetskyi, Executive Director of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), UkrInform reports. 

After years of war with Russia, Ukrainian society has overcome longstanding geopolitical divisions.

“We have bridged the main divides. Issues that once split us, NATO, the EU, language, and attitudes toward Russia, now unite us,” the sociologist notes.

Key findings from KIIS:

• Support for NATO and the EU has surged to 80–90% across all regions
• There is a broad consensus that Russia is the aggressor
• Ukrainian remains the sole state language, though one-third still favor optional study of Russian

Researchers emphasize that this is not a fleeting trend but a lasting transformation rooted in 2022. However, they caution that “the work is far from complete,” as some politicians continue to exploit language issues for electoral advantage.

“Society is evolving — Russian is no longer part of our identity but is perceived as just another foreign language,” Hrushetskyi adds.

Earlier, a poll showed that a large majority of Ukrainians, 84%, believe there is no systematic discrimination or restriction of rights against Russian-speaking citizens in Ukraine. Among Russian-speaking Ukrainians themselves, 81% share this view.

The poll’s findings reject Russian propaganda that has systematically fabricated claims of discrimination against Russian speakers in Ukraine to justify its aggression. 

A neighborhood in Springfield, Oregon, on June 10 renamed a local street from "Kiev" to "Kyiv" — a move initiated by members of the Kyiv Independent's global community.

Photos shared with the Kyiv Independent show the newly installed blue-and-yellow street sign, reflecting both the correct Ukrainian transliteration and the national colors of Ukraine.

The change comes amid a broader effort by Ukraine and its allies worldwide to move away from Russian-derived place names and honor Ukraine's linguistic and political independence.

"We're very proud of our city (Springfield, OR, U.S.) for supporting our efforts to make this happen," one community member told the Kyiv Independent.

The spelling "Kiev," pronounced "kee-yev," is the Russian version of Ukraine's capital. "Kyiv" (pronounced "keev") is the correct Ukrainian form, based on the native pronunciation and Latin transliteration.

For decades, global usage favored Russian-based spellings, a legacy of the Soviet Union's dominance and the widespread misconception that Ukrainian cities and culture were merely extensions of Russia. Even after Ukraine declared independence in 1991, much of the international community continued using names like Kiev, Lvov, and Odessa — all Russified versions.

That began to change after Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and its war in eastern Ukraine. The full-scale invasion in 2022 accelerated the shift, prompting governments, media outlets, and advocacy groups to adopt Ukrainian transliterations such as Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has promoted the change through campaigns like #KyivNotKiev, arguing that the use of correct names respects Ukraine's sovereignty and resists Russian imperial narratives.

Russian leaders, including President Vladimir Putin, have long emphasized historical ties to Kyiv in their justification for expansionist policies. Renaming streets and using correct spellings is one way communities abroad are pushing back.

Kyiv, not Kiev — How Ukrainians reclaimed their capital’s name

English speakers the world over long referred to Ukraine’s capital as Kiev, not realizing they were using the Russian name for the city.

The Kyiv IndependentAnna Belokur

A vast majority of Russian-speaking Ukrainians — those how primarily speak Russian at home — view Russia negatively, according to a survey published on May 27 by Kyiv-based think tank Razumkov Center in cooperation with the Kyiv Security Forum.  

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.

Sanctions on Russia are working, Ukraine just needs more

Sanctions on their own won’t end the war, but they are a crucial tool in the West’s efforts to pressure Putin.

The Kyiv IndependentDominic Culverwell

Kremlin lies crash into reality, new Ukrainian poll reveals. According to the survey, 82% of Russian-speaking Ukrainians hold a negative view of Russia.

In contrast, only 13% of Ukrainians confirm a positive attitude toward Russia. For comparison, 79% view France positively, 75% the UK, and 71.5% Poland.

As for religious affiliation, 11% identify themselves as followers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, while nearly twice as many, 20%, say they belong to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

When asked which societal model they found more appealing, 42% chose the European model, while only 6% favored the Russian one.

Among Russian-speaking Ukrainians surveyed, 81.5% trust the Ukrainian Armed Forces, while 14% expressed distrust. Some 4% say they are either serving in the Armed Forces or are involved in volunteer defense efforts, and 24.5% of respondents support the defense of the country financially.

When asked, “If it were up to you, what would you be willing to concede in negotiations with Russia?” only 17% of Russian-speaking citizens said they would agree to ceding Ukrainian territories. 

The survey also reveals that 26% of respondents are willing to concede Ukraine’s pro-Western course of development, and 54% believe Ukraine should not agree to reduce its Armed Forces, even if that’s a condition for a peace deal with Russia, with only 27% ready to agree to that.

Some 55% of respondents in this group believe Ukraine will win the war against Russia, while 33% do not. Only 40% think a peace agreement between Kyiv and Moscow is possible in the near future, whereas 48% do not consider it so.