Public support for NATO membership in Ukraine has dropped sharply over the past year, while interest in alternative security models and self-reliance is growing.

Public confidence in NATO as Ukraine’s main security anchor has dropped sharply over the past year, according to new polling data. In December last year, more than half of respondents-55.1 percent-said NATO membership was the key guarantee of national security. This December, that share fell to 38.3 percent.

The findings come from a nationwide survey conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation in Ukraine. The poll was carried out between December 5 and 16, 2025, using face-to-face interviews. Researchers questioned 2,000 adults aged 18 and over across the country. The stated margin of error does not exceed 2.3 percent.

Despite the decline, NATO remains the most popular security option among Ukrainians. However, the shift in attitudes is hard to ignore. Support for alternative security arrangements is gaining ground, suggesting a more fragmented public debate about how the country should protect itself.

One such alternative is closer, but narrower, cooperation with the Alliance. According to the survey, 15.4 percent of respondents now see strategic defense agreements with several NATO member states as the most reliable security guarantee. A year earlier, only 9 percent favored this approach, indicating a notable rise in interest in bilateral or limited multilateral defense ties rather than full membership.

Another trend highlighted by the study is the slow but steady growth of support for self-reliance. This year, 7.2 percent of those surveyed said Ukraine’s security should rest solely on its own capabilities, with a focus on strengthening domestic forces and developing the national defense industry without relying on international guarantees. In the previous year, that view was shared by just 3.3 percent of respondents.

Taken together, the results point to a changing public mood: NATO still leads as a preferred option, but its dominance is weakening as more Ukrainians look toward alternative paths or place greater faith in the country’s own resources.