37 Percent of Ukrainians Say One of Their Family Members or Close Friends has Died as Result of Putin’s War

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Mar. 25 – Thirty-seven percent of Ukrainians, nearly four out of 10, say that one of their family members or close personal friends has died as a result of Putin’s war in Ukraine, a figure that highlights both how brutal the Russian invasion has been and also how much Ukrainians are likely to take this to heart both now and in the future.

            A survey of 2,000 Ukrainians conducted by the Razumkov Center found and reports this figure. The polling agency said that four percent had difficulty in answering, while 59 percent said they had not yet lost anyone in the conflict (realtribune.ru/s-nachala-konflikta-u-37-ukraincev-sredi-blizkih-ljudej-est-ubitye-i-ranenye-opros).

            These losses which continue to mount will make it difficult if not impossible for any serious rapprochement of Ukrainians to Russia and Russians even if Putin is ousted and Russia returns all the Ukrainian territory including Crimea that it has occupied since 2014. Indeed, it is likely that antagonism to Russia and Russians will remain a central tenet of Ukrainian identity.