Leaving home in such times is wrong and unacceptable — this opinion is a main reason (38% of respondents) why Ukrainians stay in their places of permanent living or in Ukraine. On the second — reluctance to leave loved ones (35%). And even if the situation will get worse, more than a half stated their intention to stay. It’s the result of a survey published today by Gradus Research commissioned by the Kyiv School of Economics.

According to the survey, 28% of Ukrainians aged from 18 to 60 y.o. living in towns 50K+ were forced to relocate due to the war.

Lack of money for relocation, age, physical limitations, feeling of safety, and doubts about adaptation to a new place — are all behind, with a gap of at least 10%. Only 8% said they would like to move in case of escalation, but it’s not possible for them. All these are signs of a mature, strong society.

“There is an opinion that the Kremlin had bad intelligence about Ukrainians when they made the decision to invade. 65% of Ukrainians stayed at home despite a visa-free regime with the EU being kept after the war began, and even special support programs opened for refugees. The home to defend, the people and animals to support, is a ‘know-how’ ingredient in the recipe for incredible and unexpected resistance to the Russian military. Russia's leadership should use more sociological research before deciding to attack its neighbors,” said Eugenia Blyzniuk, founder and CEO of Gradus Research.

At the same time, more than half of respondents admit that they lost their jobs and/or money due to the invasion. Financial difficulties are becoming a major cause of stress along with Russia`s military invasion and its possible escalation. The level of stress among respondents continues to grow since the beginning of the full-scale war and currently is the highest compared with the last two years of measurements — 87%. Major emotions Ukrainians feel are tension (51%), wrath (41%), fear (40%), fatigue (39%). High levels of stress are observed among all age groups.

“Ukrainians struggle through an absolutely unprecedented experience and become an example of resilience and bravery for the world. They adapt and transform themselves and others, they feel stress. Among young people, 18-24 years old, the level of percieved stress is the highest among all categories. KSE has already brought together the world’s best universities — Harvard, Oxford, others — to create opportunities for talented young people to continue their studies offline and online and return to Ukraine as professionals,” said Tymofiy Milovanov, President of the Kyiv School of Economics.

Most Ukrainians who fled the country stayed in Poland and Germany. The vast majority of refugees (76%) seek to return to Ukraine as soon as possible.

More data from this study (in Ukrainian) is available upon request in the form on this page.

The survey was conducted on April 12, 2022 by the method of self-administered questionnaires in the mobile application. There were 500 respondents aged 18 to 60, living in cities with a population more than 50,000 in all regions of Ukraine.