Escalation of Corruption in Ukraine Amid War, According to KIIS Survey
Ukraine has experienced a significant increase in corruption levels during the full-scale war, as evidenced by recent data from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).
Over seventy-one percent of Ukrainians believe that corruption has risen markedly since the onset of the Russian invasion.
Only a small fraction — about five percent — think that the situation has remained unchanged or has even improved.
These findings span across all regions of Ukraine and indicate a widespread perception of growing corruption during wartime.Interestingly, citizens who trust President Volodymyr Zelensky tend to view the situation somewhat more positively: 62% of them believe that corruption has increased, 27% see no change, and only 6% think it has improved.
Conversely, those who do not trust the president mostly report an increase in corruption — 86%, with just 10% perceiving stability and 4% noticing improvement.The survey was conducted between September 19 and 28 through telephone interviews with a randomized sample of over 1,000 adult residents of Ukraine, excluding those from temporarily occupied territories and Ukrainian citizens who left the country after February 24, 2022.
The statistical margin of error for this sample, with a confidence level of 95%, varies from approximately 2.5% to 4.1%, depending on the indicator, reflecting widespread public concern about the rise in corruption amid ongoing hostilities.