54% of Ukrainians see corruption as bigger threat than war, poll shows
Ukrainians name biggest threat to country, and it is not war (photo: Getty Images)
More than 50% of Ukrainians consider corruption in government bodies a greater threat to Ukraine's development than Russia's military aggression, according to a study by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).
In February 2026, KIIS asked in an open-ended format what the biggest challenges are for Ukraine and Ukrainians.
In this format, 65% named war among the top challenges, and 29% named corruption. That is, in a "without prompting," "spontaneously" format, Ukrainians mostly indeed speak about the war and related problems.
At the same time, in the current survey, KIIS repeated its question from May 2024, when respondents were directly asked which is a greater threat — corruption in government or Russia's military aggression. That is, respondents had to choose between these two challenges for the country.
If respondents are asked to choose the greater threat between corruption and military aggression, 54% choose corruption.
39% of respondents consider military aggression to be the greater threat (compared to corruption). Another 7% could not decide on an answer.
Photo: KIIS survey data
Compared to May 2024, there are fewer people who have not decided on their opinion. Instead, there are slightly more of those who chose both substantive answers.
"So, as we see, if we focus people's attention on two classes of problems – war and corruption – then in this format, corruption 'wins'," KIIS noted.
According to a KIIS survey, more than 60% of Ukrainians believe that in 10 years, Ukraine will become a prosperous country within the European Union.
At the same time, one-third of Ukrainians do not trust the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The most common reason for distrust is not related to current events. 40% of respondents say that their skeptical attitude toward Zelenskyy was formed before 2022, and in some cases even before 2019.
