WARSAW – A majority of Poles oppose Ukraine joining NATO, with 52.7% against and 33.5% in favour, as backing comes mainly from ruling coalition voters and nearly three-quarters of opposition voters reject the idea, according to the latest IBRiS survey for Rzeczpospolita.
Support for Ukraine’s NATO membership is strongest among voters of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pro-European government, at 59%. Opposition voters are firmly against the idea, with 74% opposed. Tusk’s government strongly supports Kyiv’s NATO aspirations, while new President Karol Nawrocki, backed by the opposition PiS, has signalled scepticism about the bid.
By contrast, 51% of Poles would support Ukraine joining the EU, slightly below the European average of 52%, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey. Support is highest in Nordic and Baltic countries, with Sweden at 91%, Denmark and Finland at 81%, Lithuania at 72%, Latvia at 64% and Estonia at 61%.
The strongest opponents of Ukraine’s EU membership are in Hungary and Czechia, where 64% of respondents are against.
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin differentiated between Ukraine’s EU and NATO bids, saying Moscow “never objected” to the former but considered the latter “a different matter.”
(de)