Ukrainians have not always been anxious about their Russian neighbours. The countries had good relations in the early 2000s and up to 80 per cent of Ukrainians held a favourable view of Russia. As many as 56 per cent regarded Vladimir Putin’s performance on the world stage favourably.
Attitudes have hardened significantly in the years since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the occupation of much of Donbas, in eastern Ukraine, by pro-Russian separatists. Favourability towards Russia among Ukrainians collapsed from 84 per cent in 2011 to 35 per cent in 2014. By 2019, the last year for which data was available, that number was still 32 per cent.
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