Ukrainian resilience remains strong as war enters fifth year

DW News · Feb 22, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) published a poll in early February examining Ukrainians' attitudes towards the war. The survey was conducted in late January, when massive Russian attacks on energy facilities caused power outages and disrupted heating and water systems across the country, particularly in Kyiv. These strikes were happening at a time when temperatures dropped as low as minus 25 degrees Celsius. The KIIS poll found that 88% of respondents thought Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy system were designed to force the country to surrender. Yet, 65% of those interviewed said they were prepared to tough it out as long as necessary. Several months earlier, in September and December 2025, some 62% had said the same. "This January didn't make me more determined and angry, because I've been very determined and angry since 2022," Julia, a Kyiv resident, told DW. "It's just another stage of an extremely difficult battle that we will win one way or another." Julia's husband, with whom she has a daughter, has been deployed on the battlefield since 2024. "My anger helps me to remain steadfast, but also the knowledge that there is no other choice. Anything other than standing firm would be much worse," Julia said. Justice and survival One of the most important factors strengthening people's resilience is the realization that Russia's war against Ukraine is an existential one, said KIIS head Anton Hruschezkyj. For the Ukrainians, he explained, the war is not just about justice, but about sheer survival.Many Ukrainian soldiers say they are not given enough time to recover from fightingImage: Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/REUTERS "Ukrainian resilience is still high. While they are exhausted and open to making difficult concessions, they are not prepared to cross certain 'red lines.'" Russian attempts to make everyday life unbearable for normal Ukrainians have not changed this mindset, he said. Ukrainians, he added, have begun describing this hardship as "Cholodomor," or "murder by cold." This term is term derived from "Holodomor", which translated to "death by starvation," and is the name given to the man‑made famine in Soviet Ukraine at the hands of Josef Stalin's regime in 1932 and 1933. Ukrainians are exhausted from chronic war stress, said psychologist Kateryna Kudrschynska. "It takes its toll on the body, the nervous system and the psyche." She thinks Ukrainian resilience also stems from the refusal to lose more after already giving up so much.Ukrainians want to rebuild their country "We want to persevere, because if we surrender, it will be much worse under Russian leadership," Natalia, a Kyiv-based student, told DW. She has come to the capital's Independence Square to place a small flag at an improvised memorial for fallen soldiers in honor of her late father. He recently died in Ukraine's Donetsk region. The student, who fled abroad at the beginning of the war only to return later, sometimes finds the loss of her father, the extreme living conditions and the country's overall situation difficult to bear. "I draw strength from the fact that I live for my father, who wanted to live and build a future with his family," she said. "I can't give up because of him. I am convinced that Ukraine has a future."Ukraine has paid a heavy toll in four years of fightingImage: Daria Nynko/DW "Ukraine is my home, I don't want to leave. I want to rebuild my country." Olha is another Kyiv resident toughing it out. "I can't take my child by the hand and walk away," said the mother of a two-year-old. "That would be a betrayal of my husband, who is fighting in the war." Olha's husband volunteered to defend Ukraine at the beginning of the Russian invasion and is currently deployed in the Pokrovsk region. He comes home very rarely. Olha raises their son and also works part-time. She said her compatriots are seeing Russia facing economic problems and are comforted by the fact that Russia has not managed to achieve any significant military victories in four years. That's why she thinks Ukrainians are optimistic everything will turn out well. Exhausted but determined soldiers Serhij* volunteered to join the Ukrainian armed forces as a medic four years ago. He said fighters are growing less motivated and resilient because there are no fixed deployment times, hardly any opportunities for demobilization and inadequate financial provision for soldiers who are not deployed at the front.Battlefield conditions are harsh, yet many Ukrainians remain resilientImage: Diego Herrera Carcedo/AA/picture alliance Kyrylo serves as a telecommunications specialist with the Ukrainian land forces. He told DW that his comrades have resigned themselves to the lack of rest: "We've settled in so well that you don't even remember what it was like before. If you had plans for the future, you no longer have any now. This is not pessimism. It's more like: 'Whatever will be, will be'. It's a kind of humility, not despondency." Kyrylos admitted that the mood in the army is strained due to government corruption scandals and cases of misappropriated defense industry funds. Such revelations make him and his comrades feel cheated. "Personally, when my motivation wanes, all I have left is discipline and the realization that Ukraine, this nation, this identity may no longer exist if we don't persevere and fight," said Mos, who serves in a Ukrainian drone regiment. He, too, deals with burnout and feelings of apathy. Yet Mos said that realizing there is no alternative but to resist helps him regain motivation. What does Ukraine's future hold Hrushetsky believes that Ukrainians' ability to fight on as the war enters its fifth year also depends on the knowledge that European partners continue to provide support. "The current suffering is seen as an investment in the future," he said. "Our latest data shows that more than 60% [of Ukrainians] remain optimistic and believe that Ukraine will be a prosperous member of the European Union in ten years' time." *The names of the three soldiers quoted in this story have been changed to protect their identities. This article was translated from German