78% of Ukrainians believe country was unprepared for Russia's full-scale invasion

This is according to a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.

According to the study's results, in December 2025, 78% of respondents stated that Ukraine was unprepared for the invasion. Compared to September, this figure remained almost unchanged: at that time, 81% of those surveyed shared this view.

Sociologists clarified that 28% of respondents believe that Ukraine made insufficient efforts, although some preparation was still carried out. Another 50% are convinced that the preparation was absolutely inadequate — the share of this response increased from 44% in September to 50% in December.

At the same time, 15% of those surveyed believe that the state did rather or completely enough to prepare for the invasion. Of these, 10% say the result was generally adequate with some miscalculations, while 5% are convinced that the preparation was entirely sufficient.

Respondents who considered the preparation inadequate were also asked about possible reasons. Most frequently, Ukrainians pointed to the fact that the political authorities did not make the necessary efforts — 49% of those surveyed gave this answer. In addition, 29% cited the unpreparedness of the population itself, 18% — the influence of pro-Russian forces, and 15% — miscalculations by the military command.

Among other reasons, respondents mentioned Russia's significant resources (13%), insufficient support from the West (11%), and the objective difficulty of full preparation in a short period of time (10%).

Commenting on the results, KIIS Director Anton Hrushetskyi noted that Ukrainian society maintains a strong demand for justice following the great war, which includes, among other things, punishment for those responsible for the possibly inadequate preparation for the invasion.

"At the same time, beyond the function of punishment, it is important to identify the miscalculations and take them into account for the future. Especially if indeed at some point a 'peace agreement' is reached with such a configuration that would mean Russia continues to pose a threat to Ukraine," he noted.

• According to the results of a previous KIIS poll, the majority of Ukrainians - 72% - are ready to support a peace plan with a frozen front along the current line and security guarantees, while 75% reject a scenario involving the withdrawal of troops from Donbas and limitations on the army.