Have there been any major polls in the EU about popular support for Ukraine?

One issue that I’m sure the Ukraine government is worrying about is: how strong is popular support for Ukraine in the EU countries?

I’ve seen some articles that say the eastern “frontline” countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland) see Ukraine’s fight as their own fight for independent existence from Russia, but that support isn’t as strong the farther west one goes.

Are there any detailed polls that consider the issue, country by country?

Of course.

I’m sure The Economist has more.

Interesting, but that’s more about joining the EU, and none of the countries polled are the “frontline” countries which have borders with Russia.

I’m curious whether there is any major difference in the military support, not just in the western members of the EU, but also the eastern countries, especially as people are starting to think about the potential effects of natural gas being shut off by Putin as winter approaches.

Well, what do you mean by “popular support for Ukraine” in the EU? Economic union? Political union? NATO? Military support? Public sympathy? Willingness to accept refugees? All have likely been polled, but all have different answers as the question differs.

You might try this?

Or the opposite view?

Or this interactive graph.

You could also go by generation. But polls differ over time, and may differ between now and March. And government action may not align with local popular opinion (as in some Baltic and USSR regions).

Although some of these polls may seem more relevant than others, they allow several conclusions, even given recent news. The interactive graph above considers Frontline countries specifically, but none of the polls were made yesterday and interpolation is required. Polling is inexact - it always is.

  • Supporting EU or NATO membership is a significant support with considerable financial costs. Supplying economic aid, military aid or permitting and caring for refugees also has significant costs and implies support. If you support EU membership of a poorer country (which will be seen as subsidizing, to various degrees) with high rebuilding costs, this implies a very strong level of support.

  • It is normal for support to diminish if things drag on, successes are hard to define, a government is loathe to speak out for political or economic reasons, there are strong economic ties to Russia including large local Russian investment or population, costs multiply or there is less perceived historical or cultural similarity.

  • In general, countries closer to Russia have more reasons to fear future belligerence and are more likely to share cultural similarities with Russians and/or Ukrainians

  • Governments are concerned about energy needs and policies and how this will be met as well as influence popular support for Ukraine. The Germans have expressed their need for energy equipment in Canada in these terms, as you know

  • Popular support is influenced by exposure to news and propaganda. There may be legal or social repercussions for certain views in certain countries. Religious and cultural similarities might be very important

Given this, as one moves from West to East in Europe: they are more concerned about Russia’s future plans (Finland wishes to increase ties, Baltic states like Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are supportive despite strong economic ties; Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary and others have stopped planned building of Russian nuclear power plants). They have been financially and militarily supportive, plus have accepted more refugees. This applies less to Belarus (whose government is more supportive of Russia than its people), and Syria, Iran, India which are more supportive of Russia - and to a lesser degree countries involved in Russian investment such as Switzerland and France.

So, do you have further specific questions?

One might add:

  • Support in the US may have peaked, is bipartisan but a little ambivalent, and has continued due to a strategy of both parties just not to discuss the issue much. However, Biden clearly supports Ukraine

  • Putin has won public support in Iran and high-level Russian diplomats are currently visiting Egypt, Congo, Ethiopia and Uganda, in part to quell fears of famine due to grain distribution

Canada for example has a very large immigrant population of Ukrainians from early 1900’s, when the prairies opened up to European settlement. Some prairie cities have large populations, Ukrainian orthodox churches, active heritage groups, are taking in refugees now, etc. Plus, we are insulated from the threat of Russian gas supply manipulation.

For Ukrainians proud of their heritage (and Canadians in general) supporting Ukraine in its defensive fight gets a lot of sympathy, and even many Russians here are not expressing any support for what Putin is doing.

Many Russians who live outside of the region do not share all of Putin’s views. Some report conflict with family in Russia and concerns about how this is perceived, and rightly so.

Canadians are sympathetic to this problem, as are many people. A number of high level Canadian officials are of proud Ukrainian background. Part of the concern is about encouraging further belligerence.

@Dr_Paprika - These were very helpful - thank you.

You are welcome. I did the best I could. :slight_smile:

Better than me. My google-fu is weak.

I found Google not that helpful in this instance - so searched at economist.com, foreignaffairs.com, politico.com and so forth. Google usually works well, it might not help I am too impatient to go beyond the first few dozen results.