Emotional state of Ukrainians is recovering after a difficult winter - study
Kyiv • UNN
In April 2024, the share of Ukrainians in a state of stress dropped from 51% to 39%. The improvement is linked to the stabilization of the energy system following severe winter attacks.
After one of the most difficult winters in recent years, the emotional state of Ukrainians has begun to recover. In April 2026, the share of those feeling tension decreased to 39% compared to 51% in February. This is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by the Sociological Group "Rating" jointly with the Rating Lab research laboratory, UNN reports.
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Thus, almost a quarter of those surveyed currently describe their state as rather calm, while more than a third were unable to define their own emotions. Sociologists note that tension is more frequently felt by people with lower income levels and residents of eastern regions.
Among women, younger respondents appeared to be calmer, while the highest level of tension was recorded among women over the age of 51. No clear age dependency was observed among men.
The study shows that the current improvement has become a kind of reaction to emerging from a critical period. In the winter of 2026, against the backdrop of Russia's massive attacks on energy infrastructure, prolonged power and heat outages, the level of emotional tension reached 51% — the highest figure for the entire observation period since 2020. It even exceeded the level of the first months of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
With the arrival of spring and the stabilization of the situation in the energy system, the situation began to change. In April, the share of those feeling strong tension dropped by 12 percentage points at once, indicating a fairly rapid psychological recovery of society.
In general, as sociologists emphasize, the emotional state of Ukrainians since the beginning of the full-scale war has experienced sharp fluctuations: from relative calm before the COVID-19 pandemic to a sharp increase in anxiety in 2022, and subsequently — a gradual recovery against the backdrop of military successes and adaptation to new realities. The spring of 2026 has become another such period of recovery, although the level of uncertainty and internal tension remains palpable.