A majority (65%) of surveyed Ukrainians consider the war to be one of the main challenges/problems for Ukraine; however, one-third did not mention the war at all, and problems in the field of mobilization were mentioned by only 8% of respondents. This is evidenced by a poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) from February 12-24, 2026, using an open-ended survey method where respondents formulated problems themselves.

"A majority of respondents – 65% – include the war among the top challenges. Of these, 53% named this challenge first. However, this means that nearly half of the respondents initially named other problems/challenges rather than the war, and a third did not mention the war at all," KIIS reported on its website.

Sociologists suggest that during four years of full-scale war, it has become a "norm of life" or a "usual context" for many Ukrainians. Consequently, people focus on other challenges that must be resolved within this context, such as the energy situation. Other mentioned problems include: corruption (29% in the top 3), low standard of living/low wages and pensions (26%), the energy situation (24%), dissatisfaction with the Ukrainian authorities (19%), and economic problems (13%).

Spontaneous mentions of mobilization problems accounted for 8% (specifically regarding the activities of Territorial Recruitment Centers), while 6% spoke of general violations of rights and freedoms. Issues like the development of authoritarianism (0.3%) or restrictions on freedom of speech (1%) were cited much less frequently, suggesting these are not perceived as acute at the moment.

KIIS Executive Director Anton Hrushetsky commented: "In May 2024, when offered a direct choice, 48% cited corruption as the greater threat compared to 36% for Russian aggression. The current results show that without a provided list, the absolute majority does indeed speak of the war first, directly or indirectly."

The sociologist also noted challenges in information security, pointing out that in December 2025, 31% of respondents attributed power outages primarily to the actions of Ukrainian authorities rather than Russia’s shelling. "Russia invests significant resources to convince Ukrainians that the ‘enemy within is more dangerous than the enemy without,’" Hrushetsky noted, adding that while corruption remains a serious challenge, fighting it is moot in the event of a military defeat.

The survey was conducted via telephone interviews with 1,003 adult respondents in all government-controlled regions of Ukraine. The statistical error does not exceed 4.1%.