Not traitors, but hostages: how Ukrainians view people living in occupied territories.

Two-thirds of Ukrainians (67%) have a positive attitude toward people who remained in temporarily occupied territories (TOT). Only 27% of respondents chose negative characteristics.

This information is reported by RBK-Ukraine, citing data from a survey conducted by the "Democratic Initiatives" Foundation and the Razumkov Center.

Among the options presented in public discourse, 42% of respondents described people in the TOT as victims of difficult life circumstances.

Other characteristics noted by respondents include 22% who indicated that such individuals are hostages of Russia.

A total of 27% of respondents selected negative descriptors for people in the TOT. Among these, 13% view such individuals as opportunists, 9.5% as passive supporters of the "Russian world" and the USSR, and 4% as traitors who supported Russia's armed aggression.

The survey was conducted by the "Democratic Initiatives" Foundation in collaboration with the Razumkov Center from November 29 to December 14, 2024, in areas controlled by the Ukrainian government where no hostilities are taking place. The face-to-face method involved 1,518 respondents aged 18 and older. The theoretical sample error does not exceed 2.6%