Sociologists have debunked Trump's claim regarding the reasons behind Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

The statement made by the elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, claiming that Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine due to its desire to join NATO, contradicts data from sociological surveys.

This was stated by the director of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, Vladimir Paniotto, as reported by RBK-Ukraine referencing his post on Facebook.

"The assertion that Ukraine 'provoked' Russia to attack by expressing its desire to join NATO is erroneous. In reality, Ukraine's aspiration to join NATO emerged as a response to Russia's aggression," he wrote.

The sociologist noted that indeed, Ukraine applied for a Membership Action Plan (MAP) in NATO in 2008, but was denied precisely due to considerations of Russia's interests.

"However, the prospects for Ukraine's NATO membership were completely unrealistic before Russia's aggression in 2014; society was categorically against this idea," he wrote.

Paniotto provided data indicating that before 2014, only 15-20% of the population supported Ukraine's NATO membership, and most politicians did not include this point in their electoral programs as it was unpopular.

"Putin was very popular in Ukraine, with about 60% of the population holding a positive view of him, while the most popular Ukrainian politicians, such as Tymoshenko and Yanukovych, had support of no more than 30% on the eve of the 2010 presidential elections," the sociologist reminded.

According to him, the positive attitude of Ukrainians towards Russia was even higher—around 90%—which made NATO membership nearly impossible in terms of public support.

"It is important to remember that NATO was not even a demand of the protesters during the Revolution of Dignity in 2013-2014 (and even the request for EU membership was made by significantly fewer protesters than those demanding dignity and justice)," he added.

Paniotto noted that the situation drastically changed after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

"This act of aggression triggered a significant increase in support for Ukraine's NATO membership among the population, reaching 48%," the sociologist stated.

Trump's Statement

Recall that the elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated on January 7 that Vladimir Putin consistently emphasized that Ukraine should have no ties with NATO.

"It was as if it was carved in stone. And then Biden said that Ukraine should have the opportunity to join NATO. Thus, Russia gets NATO right at its doorstep," he said.

In Trump's opinion, it is such statements from Biden that led to the war. Therefore, he placed the responsibility for the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion on the current U.S. administration.