• According to the survey conducted by the Sociological Group "Rating" in September 2017, 54% of the respondents express their readiness to defend the territorial integrity of Ukraine by force of arms in case of a threat, and it is almost twice as much as in 2012. There are two-thirds of such among the residents of the Center and West, in the South - a half. On the other hand, in the East, 52% say they are not ready to defend their Fatherland with the guns in their hands (26% - ready, 22% - not determined). Patriotism is more common among men, Ukrainian-speaking and those with higher income.
• 59% of the polled support the idea of establishing a public holiday - Defender of Ukraine Day on October 14, almost the same number (56%) – does not support the idea of abolishing the celebration of the Defender of the Fatherland Day on February 23, known as the Day of the Soviet Army and the Navy. At the same time, while the first number is higher in the West, the latter - in the South and East. Interestingly, the establishment of the holiday on October 14 is equally supported both by men and women. In its turn, there is also no difference between the genders on the issue of condemning the initiative to abolish the celebration of February 23: it is not supported both by the majority of men and women. At the same time, almost a half (45%) of the supporters of the idea of establishing October 14 as the Defender of Ukraine Day do not support the abolition of the celebration of the Soviet holiday.
• 49% of the respondents support the idea of recognition of the OUN-UPA as the participants of the struggle for the State Independence of Ukraine, 29% - do not support (41% and 38% accordingly as compared to 2015). Almost a quarter of the respondents were not determined with the answer. Since the beginning of this issue research in 2010, the level of support for this initiative has increased 2.5 times.
• In the West, the support for this idea is the greatest - 80%. A half of the respondents in the Center also support the recognition of the OUN and the UPA. At the same time, almost a half of the citizens of the East and South do not support the idea of the national rebel movement recognition. The males, youth, rural citizens, people with higher education, and Ukrainian-speaking are more likely to support the OUN-UPA recognition than other categories.
• 56% are positive towards the idea of reconciliation between the soldiers of the Soviet Army and the OUN-UPA (44% in 2012). At the same time, in the West, the number of such is twice as high as in the East (75% vs. 34%). The thesis about reconciliation is somewhat more supported by the people with higher education, rural and Ukrainian-speaking citizens. This number is also almost twice as higher among those who support the recognition of the OUN-UPA as fighters for the independence, rather than among those who do not support the recognition of the national liberation movement.
• The fact that during the Second World War the Soviet Army soldiers defended their Fatherland is supported by the absolute majority of the respondents (90%), while the thesis that during the Second World War OUN-UPA soldiers defended their Fatherland is supported by 53%. At the same time, the level of support of the latter thesis has increased in one and a half times as compared to 2012. The number of the supporters of the idea that the OUN-UPA soldiers defended their Fatherland is higher among the young people, men, rural and Ukrainian-speaking citizens, and residents of the West.
Audience: residents of Ukraine aged 18 and older. The sample is representative by age, sex, region, and settlement type. Total sample: 2000 respondents. Personal formalized interview (face-to-face). The margin of error does not exceed 2.2%. Period of the survey: 20-29 September 2017
