On April 29, 2025, a panel discussion “The current state of social cohesion in Ukraine. Trust, economy, social attitudes “. The event became a platform for presenting the results of a large-scale sociological study on how Ukrainians react to the war in psychological, social and economic dimensions.
The event was organized by the NGO “Foundation for Promotion of Democracy ” in partnership with the Ukrainian Security Club and with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.
Social cohesion is not a slogan, but a challenge
After 2022, Ukrainian society demonstrated an unprecedented level of solidarity. However, the duration of the war, fatigue, economic instability, and contradictory attitudes toward mobilization have created new challenges. This is the challenge addressed by the survey conducted in April 2025 jointly by the NGO Democracy Support Foundation, InfoLight.UA Research and Analytical Group, and the sociological companyActive Group.
The survey included more than 80 questions covering 7 thematic blocks: psychological resilience, social cohesion, attitudes toward mobilization, economic confidence, information resilience, value orientations, and socio-demographic indicators. A total of 1474 questionnaires were collected in two waves.
Ukrainians are strong but tired
The Resilience Index was 64.23 out of 100, which indicates a generally high level of adaptation to stress.
The average level of anxiety on a ten-point scale is 5.8.
Cohesion holds, but precariously
The Cohesion Index is 51.8 out of 100. This means that Ukrainians are still able to act together, but on the verge of losing unity. People have the most trust in their own countrymen, the Armed Forces, and volunteers. The lowest is in the judiciary, parliament and the Cabinet of Ministers.
What unites and what divides?
The respondents noted that Ukrainians are united most of all today:
- common enemy (67.9%)
- common goal – victory in the war (59.4%)
- collective difficulties (40.5%)
Instead, the sources of the greatest tension have become:
- political disagreements – 61.6%.
- mobilization – 60.1%.
- the issue of possible compromises on the war – 55.9%
According to Oleksiy Ivashyn, a veteran and head of the Defense Veterans NGO Oleksiy Ivashyn, the society needs a new agreement on mobilization – fair, rotational, with transparent rules. “Now the sense of injustice is tearing apart even those environments that should be united,” he emphasized.
Trust in Institutions: Army, Volunteers, and… GUR
One of the most interesting parts of the presentation was the assessment of trust in public institutions. The leaders are:
- Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) – average score 4.1 out of 5
- Volunteer organizations – 3.6
- Terrorist defense – 3.3
- The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine ( DIU) – 3.1, which is significantly higher than other state bodies
In particular, trust in the DIU exceeds the level of trust in the SBU (2.6), the National Police (2.4), the Cabinet of Ministers (1.7) and the Verkhovna Rada (1.8). This demonstrates the high credibility of military intelligence in society as an effective and relatively independent player.
Commenting on the highest level of trust in the DIU, experts noted that in a previous study conducted in January 2025 by the InfoLight.UA Research and Analysis Group, DIU special units enjoyed the highest level of trust among those who were ready to voluntarily mobilize into a combat unit.
“Probably, this trust is the result of systematic work, which consists of the best training, support, care for the life of each soldier and, among other things, the desire to be involved in the coolest operations,” said Yuriy Goncharenko, founder of InfoLight.UA Research and Analysis Group.
The lowest scores were given to the judiciary (1.6) and the government, which underscores the deep crisis of legitimacy of some state institutions.
Not illusions, but sobriety
“We should not idealize the situation,” said Yuriy Goncharenko. “Our goal is not to say that everything is fine, but rather to recognize the fractures and find answers to them.”
He emphasized that the results of the study should become the basis for state solidarity policy, as well as for decisions at the level of local communities, volunteer organizations and churches, which are often closer to people than government officials.
The presentation in Truskavets was not just a formal panel, but an attempt to speak honestly about the weaknesses of our cohesion. Ukraine has survived – but maintaining social unity in 2025 is a separate front. And this front requires not heroism, but systemic solutions, fair rules and attention to everyone who is on the verge of emotional exhaustion or social disappointment.