Recently, the director of the Rating Lab Research Laboratory, Mariana Tkalych, gave an extensive interview to the largest Polish news resource onet.pl about the changes that have taken place in Ukrainians. How the new realities have affected all aspects of life, from customs to finances - and what awaits all of us in the future. The full version can be found here. We present the main points of the interview:
About attitudes towards the Motherland After the events of last year, the feeling of national pride for one's Motherland will grow. But it was impossible to predict how much this indicator would increase. Because truly, the first emotion that respondents feel when they think about Ukraine is pride. After the invasion and heroic resistance of Ukrainians, this indicator has more than doubled - from 34% to 75%. The majority of respondents identify themselves as citizens of Ukraine (compared to 2021, this number has increased from 76% to 94%). Half of them identify themselves as Europeans. This number has doubled.
About the Ukrainian language The number of people who have started using the Ukrainian language has sharply increased. 30% of people used to say that they often or constantly speak Ukrainian. Now it's over 60%.
About the financial situation of Ukrainians Overall, a larger portion of the population has felt the consequences of the war. Only 14% of respondents claim that they haven't suffered any losses. The residents of eastern regions have experienced the biggest losses, with over half of them forced to leave their homes. The main strategy of Ukrainians is to seek additional sources of income.
About the future We don't know what will happen on the front, but I think the pace of people's adaptation to the war will increase. For example, there will be more people experiencing post-traumatic growth.
Likely, the problems of people who continue to live separately in different countries will deepen. And most importantly, if there are successes on the front, it will significantly increase all these positive indicators. And this is most important for Ukrainians, as the war today affects everyone - not just those who live in the eastern part of the country.