Have Ukrainians never wanted to join NATO? What the polls show

Publication date: 23 July 2026

Claim

Belarusian political commentator Piotr Piatrouski claimed that Ukrainians had never wanted to join NATO and that the membership course was imposed on society after 2014.

Verdict

False / misleading.

Support for NATO membership in Ukraine was indeed low before 2014, and society was divided. Support began to rise after Russia's annexation of Crimea and the start of the war in Donbas. Since Russia's full-scale invasion, most polls have consistently shown a majority in favour of membership. The evidence does not support the word "never" or show that the current public position was simply imposed from outside.

In brief

• The Belarusian Investigative Center recorded Piatrouski's claim and rated it mostly false.

• According to the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, support for joining NATO was generally only 15-20 percent before 2014.

• By 2021, 48 percent would have supported accession in a referendum, while 24 percent would have voted against.

• In May 2023, 89 percent said they wanted Ukraine to become a NATO member, with majorities in every macro-region.

• A Razumkov Centre poll in November 2025 found 62.6 percent in favour among all respondents and 79.3 percent among those intending to take part in a referendum.

• An Info Sapiens poll in March 2026 found support for membership at 68.9 percent.

• Lower trust in NATO is not the same as rejecting membership. People may support accession while criticising the speed or scale of assistance.

Why this matters

The phrase "Ukrainians never wanted NATO membership" erases changes in public opinion following Russian military action. It also merges different measures: support for membership, trust in the alliance, expectations about accession timing, and assessments of wartime assistance.

This substitution presents Ukraine as a country without an independent public choice. Russian- and Belarusian-speaking audiences need the full polling trend, question wording, calculation base and regional differences rather than one convenient percentage.

What we checked

We checked the Belarusian Investigative Center article, historical and current polling from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, the Razumkov Centre's November 2025 study, and the Info Sapiens results reported in April 2026.

The surveys asked related but non-identical questions. Some asked how a respondent would vote in a referendum, while others asked whether the respondent wanted Ukraine to become a NATO member. Their percentages cannot be added or treated as perfectly interchangeable. Still, the recent sources point in the same direction: a majority supports membership.

Evidence

1. Support was low before 2014, but "never" is still false

The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology says that support for joining NATO was around 15-20 percent before the Revolution of Dignity. This confirms real historical scepticism, but a notable group of supporters already existed.

Support rose sharply after Russia annexed Crimea and began the war in Donbas. KIIS reports that in 2021, 48 percent would have voted for membership and 24 percent against. Supporters therefore outnumbered opponents even before the full-scale invasion.

2. A sustained majority emerged after the full-scale invasion

In a May 2023 KIIS study, 89 percent said they wanted Ukraine to become part of NATO. Support ranged from 79 percent in the East to 93 percent in the West. Only 18 percent considered giving up NATO membership an acceptable price for peace, while 76 percent rejected that price.

These findings do not mean that every Ukrainian shares the same opinion. They show that the claim of no public demand after 2022 conflicts with survey evidence.

3. Later surveys also show majority support

The Razumkov Centre interviewed 2,008 adults in government-controlled areas free from hostilities on 11-18 November 2025. Among all respondents, 62.6 percent said they would vote for accession, 20.9 percent would vote against and 16.5 percent were unsure. Among those intending to take part in a referendum, the result was 79.3 percent for and 14.5 percent against.

A separate Info Sapiens survey conducted on 7-20 March 2026 among 1,000 respondents for the New Europe Center found 68.9 percent support for membership.

The Belarusian Investigative Center also reported 63 percent support in a June 2026 survey. The source page blocked automated access, but the figure is consistent with the direction of the accessible 2025 and 2026 studies.

4. Trust in NATO and support for membership measure different things

In the March 2026 survey, 68.9 percent supported membership, while 54.7 percent trusted the alliance. Respondents who expressed distrust cited insufficient assistance, slow action and a lack of decisiveness.

There is no necessary contradiction. A person may view membership as a desirable security mechanism while being dissatisfied with the organisation's current actions. Using trust as proof that people reject membership would be a methodological error.

5. Regional differences remain but do not support a national "never wanted" claim

The Razumkov Centre found lower support in the South, where 39 percent favoured accession and 36.5 percent opposed it in November 2025. Support was 82 percent in the West, 65 percent in the East and 56 percent in the Centre.

This is an important limitation: opinion is not uniform. Regional variation does not turn a national majority into fiction or prove that Ukrainians never supported membership.

What remains unknown

We did not obtain the complete video or transcript of Piatrouski's statement and rely on the wording published by the Belarusian Investigative Center. Its page was visible in search indexing but blocked automated access.

Wartime surveys have limits. They normally exclude occupied territories, while evacuation and migration can affect samples. Different questions and methods also produce different absolute figures. These limitations require care, but they do not change the overall finding that several independent surveys show majority support for membership.

Conclusion

The claim that Ukrainians never wanted to join NATO is false and misleading. Support was low before 2014, but Russian aggression changed public opinion. By 2021, supporters already outnumbered opponents, and polls after the full-scale invasion show sustained majority support. Criticism of NATO and doubts about accession timing exist, but they do not prove the absence of an independent public choice.

Sources

• Belarusian Investigative Center, *Have Ukrainians never wanted to join NATO? Fact-checking Piatrouski's claim*: https://investigatebel.org/en/fakenews/petrovsky-ukraine-nato-support-polls

• Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, *Attitude towards Ukraine's accession to NATO and security guarantees*: https://www.kiis.com.ua?lang=eng&cat=reports&id=1258&page=1

• Razumkov Centre, *Ukrainian citizens' support for democratic values and foreign policy preferences, November 2025*: https://razumkov.org.ua/en/research-areas/surveys/ukrainian-citizens-support-for-democratic-values-assessment-of-the-level-of-democracy-in-the-country-ideas-of-ukraine-s-future-foreign-policy-preferences-of-citizens-november-2025

• Ukrainska Pravda, *Most Ukrainians support joining NATO, but trust in alliance is lower*: https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/04/09/8029418

Corrections and updates

If researchers publish detailed methodology for the June 2026 survey, new comparable findings or corrections, Unity Bridge will update this article and record the changes in this section.