Half of Ukrainians believe that the economy has gotten worse under Zelensky, but do not associate this with the war – survey
Almost half of Ukrainians (49%) believe that the situation in the country’s economy has worsened during President Zelensky’s tenure in power. This is evidenced by a recent survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), conducted on May 16–22.
Only 17% of respondents are confident that the economic situation has improved over the past five years; for 21%, the situation has not changed.
All these figures are generally expected. What's interesting is something else. Of the half of Ukrainians who complain about the deteriorating economy, only a clear minority (16,5%) attribute it primarily to the ongoing war. Meanwhile, 23% attribute it primarily to the misguided actions of the central government itself. Another 9% cited both reasons.
Respondents, in particular, were asked about changes in the economy over the past five years with a focus explanation that we are talking about conditions for development, transparency of rules, and fair treatment of business.
“After the full-scale invasion, we recorded a paradoxical situation, when objectively the situation in the economy became clearly worse, but the public assessed it better than before the invasion,” says the KIIS commentary.
This speaks to the "normalization" and "routinization" of the war that has occurred over the past two years. Society has become accustomed to it. For Ukrainians remaining in their homeland, the war and the fighting it caused have become merely a backdrop to their lives, and they continue to direct their grievances at the vertical power structure and its officials, tying them more to the fight against corruption than to the cessation of hostilities.
This circumstance leads to another unexpected conclusion: apparently, the hopes of those politicians and experts who hope to redirect the pent-up anger of ordinary Ukrainians, outraged by the deteriorating economic situation, into an "anti-war" direction are in vain. These sentiments are unlikely to be converted into a mass demand for a halt to hostilities, especially not on Russia's terms.
English version :: Read in English Half of Ukrainians believe the economy has worsened under Zelensky, but don't link it to the war – poll