Ivano-Frankivsk during the war: views of the residents and IDPs (April 16, 2022)

• More than 95% of respondents in both groups fully support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, more than 80% support the actions of President Zelensky (and another 15% rather support them).

 

• 67% of the surveyed permanent local residents completely support the actions of Ivano-Frankivsk mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv, and another 29% rather support them. 32% completely support the actions of Svitlana Onyshchuk, the head of the regional state administration, while 38% rather support them (a quarter of the respondents hesitated to answer). 

 

• Permanent residents express a high level of satisfaction with some areas of the life of their city. They assess public order and food supply relatively better. They are somewhat less satisfied with the strengthening of the city's defenses and providing medicines.

 

• Estimating possible military threats, the permanent residents express more concern than the IDPs. Specifically, the city's residents (both locals and the IDPs) are most afraid of missile strikes on military facilities (33% of locals and 30% of the IDPs estimate their threat as a high one). The respondents are slightly less afraid of sabotage against infrastructure (its threat was estimated as a high one by 27% of locals and 22% of the IDPs) and of missile strikes on civilian objects (19% of both locals and the IDPs estimate their threat as a high one). Local residents are more afraid of diversions against the civilian population (20% estimate their threat as a high one) than the IDPs (14%). On the other hand, the threat of the seizure of settlements was not estimated as a high or moderate one by the majority of the respondents in either group. 

 

• The vast majority (over 80%) of local residents are involved in defending Ukraine. 59% help financially, 41% volunteer, 20% work in critical infrastructure, another 20% are engaged in the informational area, and 3% serve in the territorial defense or in the Armed Forces. Only 11% said they are not able to help the country (the share of such respondents is relatively higher among the oldest ones). 

 

• Half of the surveyed IDPs in Ivano-Frankivsk are residents of the central regions of Ukraine, 38% arrived from the eastern regions, and only 12% arrived from the southern ones. Almost 80% are women (55% of them have children aged up to 17 years). The average age of the IDPs is 44 years. One third of them speak Russian at home, 45% speak two languages (both Ukrainian and Russian), and a quarter speak only Ukrainian.

 

• 61% of the surveyed IDPs named the presence of relatives or close friends in the city as the main reason for choosing Ivano-Frankivsk as a city for temporary stay. 14% chose the city because of the information about the availability of temporary accommodation. Only 4% said they went to Ivano-Frankivsk because of the decision of the organization responsible for their resettlement, and 3% went there due to the opportunity to get a job. 

 

• 30% of the surveyed permanent residents of Ivano-Frankivsk said they are already hosting IDPs from other regions of the country. Another 25% are ready to host IDPs. 44% did not express a desire to host IDPs.

 

• Three-quarters of Ivano-Frankivsk residents said they have personally provided assistance to the IDPs. 51% expressed a positive attitude to the possibility that a part of the IDPs might stay in the city to live or work there. 43% are neutral about this possibility, and only 5% have negative attitude. 

 

• 92% support the initiative to relocate enterprises from the war-affected regions to Ivano-Frankivsk oblast. 74% support the idea of building permanent housing for the IDPs.

 

• 89% think that local authorities effectively manage to accommodate refugees from other regions of Ukraine (35% think they manage quite effectively, and 54%, rather effectively).

 

• In general, the IDPs assess the attitude of the locals towards themselves better than the residents of Ivano-Frankivsk assess their own attitude towards the IPDs. Specifically, 57% of the surveyed IDPs say that the attitude of locals towards them is very positive, while 30% say it’s rather positive. In their turn, 20% of the locals said that their attitude toward the IDPs is completely positive. 42% report a rather positive attitude, and 27%, a neutral one. Only 3% of the surveyed Ivano-Frankivsk residents said they have a negative attitude towards the IDPs.

 

• More than 90% of the IDPs would like to make acquaintances and friends with the locals. On the other hand, more than 80% of Ivano-Frankivsk permanent residents would not mind finding friends among the IDPs. 16% of the locals would not like to do this.

 

• Despite the fact that the majority of the respondents who recently arrived to the city (over 65%) speak either both Ukrainian and Russian or only Russian at home, the vast majority of them (82%) try to communicate with locals only in Ukrainian (it’s two thirds among the Russian speakers).

 

• 57% of the IDPs do not see any issue of language-based misunderstanding with the local residents. 37% see this as a minor problem, and only 6%, as a significant one. On the other hand, 13% of the locals believe that there is a significant problem of language-based misunderstanding with the IDPs, 51% consider it a minor problem, and 35% do not see any problem with the language.

 

• 44% of the surveyed Ivano-Frankivsk permanent residents said that they were unaware of any violations of social norms and indecent behavior by the IDPs from other regions of Ukraine. 42% know about such cases only from the media. Only 13% have personally witnessed such cases. 

• 83% of Ivano-Frankivsk residents are ready to defend the territorial integrity of Ukraine with weapons in hand. 86% are ready to endure financial difficulties for the sake of the victory over Russia as long as necessary. Among the IDPs, 60% are ready to fight with weapons and 79% are ready to endure financial difficulties (as mentioned, 80% of the IDPs are women).

 

• Almost 80% of the surveyed local residents do not consider going abroad in case of military escalation in the region. Among the IDPs, this share is 59%.

 

• 46% of the surveyed Ivano-Frankivsk residents have close relatives (husbands, wives, sons, daughters, fathers or mothers) who participate in the war against Russia. Among the IDPs, this share is 34%.

 

• Both permanent Ivano-Frankivsk residents and IDPs absolutely agree that Ivano-Frankivsk is a comfortable city to live in.

 

• Only 7% of the surveyed IDPs said they lack food, while 15% said they do not have enough household goods. 16% complained about the lack of medicines, and 21% complained about the lack of clothing. Half of the surveyed IDPs received social and humanitarian assistance from the government, from volunteers, or from other people.

 

• 20% of the IDPs would like to stay in Ivano-Frankivsk or find a job there. 40% would consider such a possibility, while 39% do not have such intentions. In turn, 51% of the locals expressed a positive attitude to the possibility that a part of the IDPs could stay in the city to live or work there. 43% are neutral about this, and only 5% have negative attitude.

 

• One third of the surveyed IDPs who have school-age children said that their children are already studying at local schools. Half of such respondents said that their children continue their education at their former schools. Children of 14% of the IDPs are not studying at the moment.

 

• 51% of the IDPs currently live in the homes of their relatives, friends, or acquaintances. 33% rent an apartment, while 7% live in the homes of strangers. Only 3% live in hotels or hostels, and 2%, in refugee shelters. Among those who rent housing, 63% consider the cost of the rent too high, while 32% consider it acceptable.

 

• 10% of the surveyed IDPs plan to return to their homes soon, while 45% plan to return, but a little later. 40% intend to return only after the war is over. Only 3% do not intend to return at all.