Russian armed aggression, which has been ongoing since 2014, has forced millions of people to leave their homes and seek refuge in the territory controlled by Ukraine and abroad. However, many Ukrainians remained in the occupation for various reasons. After liberating its territories, Ukraine should restore them to social, cultural, educational, economic and political life. The authorities will have to look for ways to reduce social tension, dialogue and understanding between people who are on different sides of the front.

This report presents the results of a study of attitudes towards citizens of Ukraine who have obtained Russian passports; criminal responsibility for cooperation with the occupation authorities for various categories of citizens, as well as limitation of their voting rights; postponing the elections after the liberation of all the territories of our country, which have been under occupation for different periods of time, conducted on the order of the Civil Network OPORA.

Key trends:

  • Most Ukrainians (76.5%) believe that some people in the occupied territories are forced to obtain Russian passports for physical security reasons.  A little more than 30% of Ukrainians think that those who obtain the passport of the aggressor country do so for the financial or ideological reasons.
  • More than 90% of respondents are convinced that the criminal responsibility for cooperation with the occupation authorities should be borne by the security forces and military personnel who joined the service of the occupation authorities; organizers of pseudo-referendums and pseudo-elections in the occupied territories, as well as those who ran for office in these so-called “elections”. More than 80% of respondents believe that those who agreed to work in occupation administrations should be held accountable before the law.
  • Two-thirds of Ukrainians believe that criminal responsibility should also await those who voted in illegal “referendums” and “elections” organized by Russia, as well as businesses that agreed to work under Russian laws and teachers who went to teach according to the Russian curriculum.
  • The least number of citizens, 20%-35%, believe that doctors and employees of communal enterprises who cooperated with the enemy should bear criminal responsibility; pensioners who applied for Russian social benefits and those who obtained the passport of the aggressor country.
  • In the West of the country, there is a higher level of support than anywhere else in Ukraine for the idea that criminal responsibility should be borne by a wider range of persons, in particular local businessmen and teachers who agreed to teach according to the Russian curriculum.
  • The vast majority of respondents (61.2%) believe that the right to vote and be elected should be limited to three categories of persons: those who obtained a Russian passport, participated in the so-called “elections” and “referendums” and organized them, as well as those who worked in occupation bodies and power structures. Only 7.4% of respondents believe that none of the aforementioned categories of persons should be deprived of their voting rights.
  • According to 68.4% of respondents, after the liberation of Crimea and certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts (ORDLO) occupied in 2014-2015, the elections there should be postponed. On the other hand, 14% fewer Ukrainians support the idea that such a postponing is necessary in the Ukrainian territories that the Russian Federation seized after February 24, 2022.
  • In the case of Crimea and ORDLO, most respondents believe that the elections in these regions should be postponed for a period of 1 to 5 years; in the case of newly occupied territories – for 1 year.
Methodology

The study was carried out by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology on the order of the Civil Network OPORA from June 19 to 29, 2023. Computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers (with random generation and subsequent statistical weighting), 2,004 respondents living in all regions of Ukraine (except the Autonomous Republic of Crimea) were interviewed.

Respondents are adult (aged 18 and older) citizens of Ukraine who, at the time of the survey, lived on the territory of Ukraine (within the boundaries controlled by the Ukrainian authorities before February 24, 2022). The sample did not include residents of territories that temporarily were not controlled by the authorities of Ukraine before February 24, 2022 (Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions), as well as citizens who went abroad after February 24, 2022.

The statistical sampling error (with a probability of 0.95 and taking into account the design effect of 1.1) does not exceed 2.4% for indicators close to 50%, 2.1% for indicators close to 25%, 1.5% — for indicators close to 10%.

Attitude towards people who obtain Russian passports during the occupation

Most Ukrainians (76.5%) believe that some people in the occupied territories are forced to obtain Russian passports for physical security reasons. Half as many respondents (36.2%) believe that Ukrainians accept the citizenship of the aggressor country for financial reasons (to be able to work and receive social benefits); 31.7% – because they support Russia, another 14.5% – to fulfill the tasks of national resistance.

The attitude towards Ukrainian citizens who obtained Russian passports during the occupation is practically the same in different regions. The only exception is the western regions, where the second most popular belief (40.3%) is the belief that people obtain Russian passports because they consciously support the aggressor country. 33.4% of those living in the western part of the country believe that Russian citizenship is accepted due to financial considerations.

Responsibility for cooperation with the occupation authorities

Almost all Ukrainians (94.5%) agree that criminal responsibility for cooperation with the occupation authorities should be borne by representatives of the security forces and military personnel who joined the service of the occupation authorities. Slightly fewer respondents are convinced that criminal responsibility should await those who helped the Russian administration organize so-called “elections” and “referendums” in the occupied Ukrainian territories (92.8%) and ran for office in them (92%). More than 80% of Ukrainians believe that those who agreed to take a managerial position in the occupation administration should answer to the law. Such trends are observed in all macro-regions of the country without exception.

The majority of respondents believe that people who voted in the “referendums” and “elections” organized by Russia on the TOT (temporarily occupied territories) should bear criminal responsibility (65.8%); as well as local businessmen who kept jobs and provided goods or services, but paid taxes to the occupation administration (59.1%); teachers who continue to teach children but agreed to teach subjects according to the Russian curriculum (53.7%). It is worth noting that there are some regional differences here. For example, in the West, there is a higher level of support for the idea that businessmen and teachers should bear criminal responsibility than anywhere else in Ukraine.

The least Ukrainians support the opinion that doctors who provide medical services according to Russian standards should be held criminally liable (21.7%); as well as pensioners who applied for Russian social benefits (27.4%); employees of utility companies that support the work of critical infrastructure, receiving wages from the occupation administration (33.9%). Another 34.5% of Ukrainians believe that TOT residents who obtained Russian passports should be prosecuted. Again, those who live in the West are more critical of pensioners, utility workers and people who obtained Russian passports during the occupation.

Restriction of voting rights

The vast majority of Ukrainians (61.2%) believe that the right to vote and be elected should be limited to those who obtained a Russian passport, participated in the so-called “elections” and “referendums” and organized them, as well as those who worked in occupation authorities and power structures. At the same time, 18.3% of citizens believe that only those who worked in the occupation authorities and power structures should be deprived of voting rights; 16.1% – only those who participated in pseudo-elections and pseudo-referendums and organized them. Another 7.4% of respondents believe that none of the aforementioned categories of persons should be deprived of voting rights. 3.1% of respondents support the opinion that only those who obtained the passport of the aggressor country should be deprived of voting rights.

There are differences in views on the deprivation of voting rights of certain residents of TOT in different regions of the country. Thus, in the West of the country, the highest level of support for the idea (almost 70%) is observed that voting rights should be restricted for those who obtained a Russian passport, participated in, or organized pseudo-elections and pseudo-referendums, and worked in the occupation authorities and security forces. On the other hand, in the East, this opinion is shared by 53.3% of respondents.

According to 68.4% of respondents, after the liberation of Crimea and certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions occupied in 2014-2015, the elections there should be postponed. 32.6% of Ukrainians believe that the elections should be postponed for a period of 1 to 5 years; 24.5% – for 1 year; 7.2% – from 5 to 10 years; 4.1% – for more than 10 years. Another 21.7% of Ukrainians believe that there is no need to postpone the elections.

At the same time, significantly fewer Ukrainians (54.4%) support the idea that after the liberation it will be necessary to postpone the elections in the territories occupied after February 24, 2022. 27.4% of Ukrainians believe that the elections should be postponed for a year; 21% – from 5 to 10 years; 3.7% – from 5 to 10 years; 2.3% – for more than 10 years. On the other hand, 37.3% of respondents believe that there is no need to postpone the elections after the liberation of these territories.

If we pay attention to the regional distribution, then the Center of the country (71.4%) is most in favor of the need to postpone the elections in Crimea and in the ORDLO. On the other hand, in other regions, this idea is supported less, although not significantly (65%-67%). As for the territories temporarily occupied by Russia after February 24, such an idea is somewhat more supported in the West of the country (58.4%), and the least – in the East (50.8%) and South (51.2%).