Majority of Ukrainians do not support either side in US-Iran war – KIIS survey

A majority of Ukrainians do not support either side in the war between the United States and Iran, according to a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

The poll shows that 65% of Ukrainians claim they do not support either side. Meanwhile, 22% expressed support for the United States and Israel, while 7% supported Iran. Another 7% were unable to answer the question or were unaware of the conflict. This distribution remains consistent across all categories of respondents, though those with higher education levels were more likely to side with the US and Israel, even as 61% of that group remained neutral.

KIIS Executive Director Anton Hrushetsky noted that sympathy for Israel has been declining since 2023. He explained that while there was overwhelming support following the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack, there is now a lack of support for joint actions by the US and Israel against the Iranian regime. Hrushetsky suggested that current results might also reflect critical attitudes toward Donald Trump and significant criticism of the US leadership among the Ukrainian population.

Hrushetsky emphasized that Ukraine and Israel are natural partners facing common enemies, specifically Russia, which he described as a warmonger in the Middle East that openly supports Iran. He expressed regret that the Israeli leadership appears to prioritize relations with Russia while ignoring the potential for cooperation with Ukraine or engaging in unfriendly actions, such as the potential involvement of Israeli ports in receiving stolen Ukrainian grain.

Separately, Hrushetsky noted that Ukrainians maintain a consistently favorable attitude toward Jewish residents of Ukraine, who ranked second only to Ukrainians themselves in terms of social distance in a September 2025 survey. He highlighted that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently signed a law establishing criminal liability for antisemitism, reflecting a positive stance at both the societal and state levels. Hrushetsky urged Ukrainians to distinguish between the Israeli leadership and Israeli society, where many friends of Ukraine remain, and to avoid inappropriate comments regarding the current tensions.

The survey was conducted between April 20 and April 27, 2026, using computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) with 1,005 adult respondents living in government-controlled territories of Ukraine. The statistical error for such a sample, under normal circumstances, would not exceed 4.1% for indicators near 50%.