When the gap amounts to only a few percentage points, it suggests not confidence in the city’s direction of development, but rather a de facto “draw” in how Kyiv residents assess the situation.
Survey Results
- 44.5% believe Kyiv is developing in the right direction
(12.8% — definitely yes, 31.7% — rather yes). - 40.1% believe the city is moving in the wrong direction
(25.0% — rather no, 15.1% — definitely no). - 15.4% were unable to answer.
- The gap between “right direction” and “wrong direction” is only +4.4 percentage points.
What This Means
The findings point to a high level of polarization in public opinion among residents of the capital.
In wartime conditions, the formation of public opinion becomes significantly more complicated. Many Kyiv residents find it difficult to separate the quality of city governance from the impact of external factors — missile attacks, power outages, economic hardship, and the broader atmosphere of uncertainty.
It is also noteworthy that even among supporters of the current mayor, there is no complete consensus regarding the direction of the capital’s development.
This suggests that assessments of the mayor’s performance and assessments of the city’s overall development do not always align, reflecting more complex and often contradictory public expectations.
What Should Be Taken Into Account
For the city administration, one of the key challenges remains clear and understandable communication with the community.
It is important to explain to residents which changes are the result of municipal management decisions, and which are consequences of external factors — the war, decisions made by the central government, or объективе security constraints.
Without such differentiation, positive achievements risk being overshadowed by the broader negative information environment. In that case, even a slight advantage in positive evaluations does not translate into a genuine sense that the city is confidently moving forward.
