The international holiday - European Neighborhood Day - is considered to be a symbol of tolerant attitude towards those who live next door to you. Find out why this holiday has become a trigger for Ukrainians

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European Neighborhood Day is celebrated annually in 50 countries on the last Friday of May. This is a relatively young holiday, which was first celebrated in 2000 in the French capital. This date is intended to remind us of unity and mutual respect for those who live next door to us. So what is the paradox if we look at this holiday from a broader perspective?

What it's like to live next to bad neighbors: Ukrainian-russian relations

Despite the fact that for many centuries, russia has been trying to appropriate Ukrainian territories and destroy Ukrainians as a nation, erasing their identity and authenticity. Ukrainian citizens have always treated russians with respect and compassion. Even after 2014, when the russian authorities began to occupy the eastern and southern regions of the country, Ukrainians continued to support the russians. 

Thus, according to a survey conducted by the Rating Group, in 2018, 47% of Ukrainian citizens had a "warm" attitude towards russians, another 30% of respondents described their attitude as "neutral," and only 23% as "cold." 

A striking example is the reaction of Ukrainian citizens to the terrible tragedy that occurred in the russian city of Kemerovo in 2018. Ukrainian social media was flooded with posts of support and assistance for those affected by the fire in the "Winter Cherry" shopping center.

And even at the beginning of the full-scale war in 2022, Ukrainians believed in "good russians" and actively called on russian stars and bloggers to express their protest and support. Thus, in the early spring of 2022, 13% of Ukrainian citizens continued to characterize their attitude as "warm," and 31% as neutral. The number of respondents who had a "cold" attitude toward russians increased to 51%.

However, have you seen any examples of massive support for Ukrainians from russians, before or after all the atrocities committed by the russian authorities? Paradox.

How do Ukrainians feel about russians today?

Yes, the absence of any support and sympathy, and moreover, the massive calls from russians to "destroy these Khokhuls" have finally changed the attitude of Ukrainians towards this nation.

Today, according to the Razumkov Center, 77% of Ukrainians characterize their attitude toward russian citizens as "negative," 14% as "neutral," 7% of respondents were unable to answer the question, and only 2% of respondents said their attitude remained positive.

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How many Ukrainians support a visa regime with russia after the war?

Ukrainians support not only the visa regime with russia, but also the complete severance of all relations after the war. Thus, 82% of respondents definitely agreed with a complete ban on russians entering Ukraine, and only 9.5% of respondents do not support complete isolation from russian citizens, while 8.5% of Ukrainians could not answer the question.

How do Ukrainians feel about their western neighbors? 

The events of recent years have finally made it clear what real support and sincere help from neighbors means. Moreover, Ukrainians have clearly defined who they are and what kind of society they see their future with.

According to the survey:

● 94% of Ukrainians have a positive attitude toward Poles;

● 91% have a positive attitude towards the British;

● 91% of Ukrainians have a positive attitude towards Lithuanians;

● 90% towards Estonians;

● 90% towards Latvians;

● 90% to Canadians;

● 88% to Czechs;

● 88% of Americans;

● 86% of the Dutch;

● 86% to the French;

● 85% to the Germans;

● 82.5% to Moldovans;

● 82.5% to Slovaks;

● 75% to Israelis;

● 74% to the Japanese;

● 72.5% to Turks;

● 70% to Georgians;

● 69% to Romanians;

● 66% to Armenians;

● 65% of Azerbaijanis.

We remind you! Ukraine's path to European Union membership is not easy, but the government is working hard every day to ensure that the process of European integration is as fast as possible. We explained why the inclusion of the Ukrainian language in the EU translation system is a strategically important step in our previous article.

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