Ukrainians Do Not Want a Historical Conflict with Poland: Results of a New KIIS Survey

Despite the new escalation of historical disputes between Ukraine and Poland, the majority of Ukrainians support dialogue and a constructive approach. Find out what a new KIIS 2026 poll showed, how attitudes towards Poles have changed, and what Ukrainians think about historical memory

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In early summer 2026, Polish-Ukrainian relations experienced another escalation due to historical issues. However, despite all the challenges and difficulties, Ukrainian society demonstrates impressive restraint, as the majority of citizens do not support confrontation, do not want the politicization of history and advocate for a pragmatic or compromise dialogue.

These are the data of a new survey published by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS). The research was conducted from June 17 to 23, 2026, and it showed a rather important trend: despite the political disputes between Kyiv and Warsaw, there is no anti-Polish sentiment in Ukraine. What is more, Ukrainians mostly demonstrate a mature approach to complex historical topics.

Read also, Ukrainians believe that Ukraine will prosper in the EU in 10 years.

Ukrainians against the historical dispute with Poland

One of the main topics in the KIIS survey was the issue of historical disagreements between Ukraine and Poland. Sociologists offered respondents four scenarios for resolving historical disputes - from harshly confrontational to compromise, and the results were indicative.

- Only 5% of Ukrainians support confrontational scenarios, with 1% believing that Ukraine should fully accept the Polish point of view, and 4% are convinced that Poland should agree with the Ukrainian position.

- The absolute majority (90%) advocate a constructive approach.

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What ways do Ukrainians see to resolve the historical conflict between Poland and Ukraine?

- 57% chose the pragmatic option - each country has the right to its own vision of history;

- 33% support the idea of ​​joint commissions of historians and the search for a compromise.

So Ukrainians do not want to turn history into a tool of political pressure.

Does the opinion of Ukrainians change depending on the region of residence?

An important detail – the results almost do not differ depending on the region. In the west of Ukraine, in the center, in the south, in the east and in Kyiv, the majority of respondents support the same logic: historical disputes should not destroy modern relations between states.

This is especially indicative, because issues of historical memory are traditionally considered one of the most sensitive for Ukrainian society. However, KIIS data demonstrate: even in complex topics, society is much more pragmatic than political discussions in the media.

Read about the most real military risks in Ukraine and how to avoid them in this article.

How has the attitude of Ukrainians towards Poles changed?

KIIS also analyzed the long-term dynamics of Ukrainians' attitude towards Poles using the Bogardus social distance scale - a study conducted since 1994 and allowing to assess the level of tolerance or prejudice towards different groups.

For many years, the attitude of Ukrainians towards Poles has remained consistently positive. A particularly significant improvement occurred after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

- In 2021, the indicator was 3.7 points

- In 2022 - 3.0 points

- In 2023 - 2.9 points - it was during this period that Poles became one of the closest nations to Ukrainians.

The reason is the active support for Poland in the first years of the Great War. In 2024-2025, the attitude cooled somewhat due to political tension, the blockade of the border and anti-Ukrainian rhetoric in Polish politics. However, another important thing is that even after this, the level of attitude towards Poles remained positive. In other words, the romantic period of special closeness is over, but the fundamental sympathies between the societies have survived.

Poland supports changing the rules of temporary protection for Ukrainians: read what is being discussed in the EU in this article.

How do Ukrainians feel about the OUN-UPA?

A separate block of the study concerned the attitude towards the OUN-UPA. The results show that public opinion has changed significantly in recent years.

- In 2013, 48% of Ukrainians assessed the activities of the OUN-UPA negatively and only 19% positively.

- In 2025, the picture looks different: only 8% assess the activities of the OUN-UPA negatively, 37% positively, and 50% note that it is difficult for them to give an unambiguous assessment.

That is, the level of negative perception of the OUN-UPA has significantly decreased, but a significant part of Ukrainians still lacks the knowledge to form a clear position. And this is understandable, because the history of the 20th century remains complex, multi-layered and emotionally sensitive.

What signal does Ukrainian society give?

So, the main conclusion of the study is simple - Ukrainian society turned out to be much more mature than one might expect. Despite political conflicts, historical disputes and emotional background, most Ukrainians do not want an escalation with Poland, do not support anti-Polish rhetoric and advocate a constructive dialogue. In the current conditions, this is especially important.

Both Ukraine and Poland remain strategically important partners in the field of security, logistics and economy. That is why historical discussions are increasingly perceived not as a reason for conflict, but as a topic for professional dialogue between historians.

It seems that Ukrainian society has already made its choice: to look not only to the past, but also to the common future.

Despite historical disputes, Ukrainians continue to actively travel to Poland and other European countries. If you are planning to travel to the EU by car, it is important to take care of not only the route in advance, but also the necessary travel documents. The electronic road vignette allows you to quickly and officially pay the toll for using toll roads and motorways without paper stickers and unnecessary queues.

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Apply for an e-vignette in advance and travel in Europe without unnecessary worries.

Recall! The war caused a large-scale wave of forced migration among Ukrainian citizens. Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets published current UNHCR statistics on the number of Ukrainians abroad. We have already told you how many Ukrainians left the country and what the human rights commissioner said.

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