Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst — Svitlana Shevchenko on the mood of Ukrainians
The online outlet Lviv Media approached Svitlana Shevchenko, Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine, Candidate of Sociological Sciences, asking her to comment on the results of the Rating Group survey “What do Ukrainians expect from 2026?”, conducted at the end of 2025 as part of the international “End of Year” study. The journalists were interested, among other things, in why the share of those expecting improvement has fallen; how to explain the fact that people on the whole remain optimists despite the economic difficulties they expect; what Ukrainians' faith in the future rests on; and why different groups in society have different reserves of resilience.
Ukrainians are entering 2026 with a combination of cautious optimism, fatigue and anxiety, yet society retains its resilience. Social ties play a key role in this — the support of those close to them, involvement in shared undertakings, volunteering and a sense of being useful. It is precisely not being alone and acting together that help people withstand the prolonged pressure of the war.
An important factor in public mood remains the demand for justice, especially in relation to servicemen and veterans. An unmet demand for justice on the part of the state undermines people's resilience more strongly than economic problems do.
Despite the war, Ukrainians show less anxiety about future security than the residents of some European countries. This is explained by a different starting point: in Ukraine the war has already become a reality, whereas in Europe fears are often shaped by the information background and by potential threats.
The information environment plays an important role. Excessive consumption of low-quality content on social media increases anxiety and exhaustion. Information hygiene, by contrast — limiting toxic news and focusing on quality content — helps to preserve psychological balance, and replacing time on social media with reading books helps even more.
As for particular groups in society, the sociologist stressed that the pessimism of young people, and of young men in particular, was already visible in the data of the Institute of Sociology's 2024 monitoring survey. This is largely connected with mobilisation. Older age groups and women, by contrast, show greater psychological resilience, thanks in part to previous experience of overcoming crises and better adaptation to prolonged upheaval.
Overall the interview shows that Ukrainian optimism in 2026 is not naive but restrained and responsible, grounded in cohesion, in the demand for justice and in a clear-eyed attitude towards reality.
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Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The country's leading sociology research institution, founded in 1990.