A Top Lead survey conducted on 8-9 October shows that 97% of Ukrainians perceive their Polish neighbours as a “friendly country”, with 86% considering Poland as “very friendly”. Only less than 4% referred to it as “hostile”. 

Two other countries complete the podium of Ukrainians’ friendliest nations: Britain and the USA. Eight out of ten Ukrainians view these countries favourably. 

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On the other hand, the study shows that most Ukrainians see Russia (97%) and Belarus (85%) as hostile. When it comes to Hungary, Ukrainian respondents are rather ambivalent. Over four in ten (42%) respondents view Hungary as hostile, one in four (26%) have a “neutral” opinion towards the Magyars, and one in five (21%) view them as friendly. 

Another survey conducted by IBRiS back in late February this year reveals that 90% of Poles were willing to accept Ukrainians on Polish soil, while 64% of them announced they were willing to help the refugees personally. 

These figures varied slightly in the following months, but the overall support from Poles toward Ukrainian refugees remains high. Poland has been the primary destination to which Ukrainian refugees have been fleeing since Russia launched its invasion on 24 February. 

The massive solidarity and support shown by the Polish population are well appreciated by the newcomers, from which several groups decided to show their gratitude, for example, by cleaning up parks in different parts of the country. 

Such cleaning-up events have been organised in Poland’s main cities (Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań, Wrocław, Łódź, Gdańsk, Gdynia, Koszalin,…) and also in Białe Błota (northern Poland) and Czarna Hańcza near Suwałki among others during last summer. 

Image: Unsplash

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen