Almost 80% of Ukrainians have close relatives or friends injured or killed since Russian invasion – poll
An absolute majority of Ukrainians – 78% – have close relatives or friends who have been injured or killed due to the Russian invasion of the country, according to a Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) survey released on June 29.
Among those who have such close relatives or friends, the average number (the median value was used) was seven, i.e. on average, such respondents have seven close relatives or friends who were injured or killed, KIIS said.
At the same time, 64% of Ukrainians have at least one close relative or friend who was injured (on average, each person knew five close connections) and 63% have at least one close relative or friend who died (on average they knew three deceased close connections).
In all regions of Ukraine, the vast majority of the population have close relatives or friends who have been injured or killed by the Russian invasion. The indicator ranges from 70% in the east to 80% in the west.
Commenting on the survey results, sociologists claim that Russia’s war against Ukraine formed a tragic collective experience for the absolute majority of Ukrainians and both the residents of western and eastern Ukraine are experiencing the same terrible losses caused by Russia.
“We can talk about the pain of Ukrainians for losses and maddened anger at enemies,” said Anton Hrushetskyi, executive director of KIIS.
“The strong emotional coloring of this experience acts as a factor that, on the one hand, brings different Ukrainians closer together and allows them to better understand each other. On the other hand, it contributes to the unity of Ukrainians to work together to expel the enemy and achieve justice – punishment for the wrongs caused.”
Read also: UN confirms 9,083 civilians killed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
The survey was conducted from May 26 to June 5.
Some 2,013 people were interviewed by phone in all regions of Ukraine, with the exception of the Russian-occupied territories. Those who went abroad after Feb. 24 were also not interviewed.
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the occupying forces have been launching missile and air strikes at civilian infrastructure, resulting in the deaths of civilians.
A total of 9,083 civilians have been killed and 15,779 have been injured since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a report on June 19.
“The OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration,” reads the report.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian authorities do not disclose military losses. In May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained it as a general decision of the military command.
In early 2023, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced the daily losses of the Ukrainian and Russian military. He claimed that Russia was losing about 500-600 soldiers in Ukraine every day, while the Armed Forces of Ukraine were losing ten times less people.
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