On February 22-24, 2025, the Rating Sociological Group conducted a public opinion survey on the issue of civilian captivity. The survey was carried out at the request of the NGO "NUN" within the framework of a grant provided by the EU Project "Pravo-Justice," which is implemented by Expertise France.

Key Findings

• 78% of respondents are either well-informed or have heard about the issue of civilian captivity.
• A vast majority (84%) are aware of or have heard about the Geneva Conventions and the prohibition of taking civilians captive.
• 16% of respondents have friends or acquaintances who have been or are currently in civilian captivity.
• The most common information encountered by those aware of civilian captivity relates to the release or exchange of captives (55%).
• The primary sources of such information include messenger channels (45%), social media (45%), television (41%), and online news media (35%).
• The majority of respondents believe that state authorities bear responsibility for addressing the issue of returning civilian hostages.
• 14% of respondents are aware of NGOs that work on the return of civilian hostages.

Awareness about the issue of civilian captivity

• 27% of respondents stated that they are well aware of the practice of the unlawful detention of civilians (non-military Ukrainians) in the temporarily occupied territories or in Russia—civilian captivity. About 51% have heard about it, while 22% said they know nothing about it.
• The most informed groups include respondents from central regions (33%), younger and middle-aged individuals (34% and 32%, respectively), and internally displaced persons (38%).
• Among those respondents who know about civilian captivity, 55% have heard information about the release or exchange of captives, 48% - about isolated, unsystematic reports on the existence of such a phenomenon without specifics, 21% - about the number of civilian captives, 17% - about the activities or initiatives of Ukrainian government bodies regarding this issue, and 14% - about the activities or initiatives of international authorities.
• Regarding the Geneva Conventions and the prohibition of taking civilians captive, 42% of Ukrainians are well aware of their existence, while another 42% have heard about them. Meanwhile, 15% of respondents are uninformed on the matter. The most knowledgeable groups include residents of central regions (46%), younger and middle-aged individuals (53% and 49%, respectively), men (48%), returned IDPs (47%), and those who are well-informed about civilian captivity (74%).
• 16% of Ukrainians have friends or acquaintances who have been or are currently in civilian captivity, while 83% do not. Such friends or acquaintances are more common among internally displaced persons (25%).

Sources of information about the civilian captivity

• Among the most common sources of information about prisoner exchanges, respondents most frequently mention messenger channels in Telegram or Viber (45%), social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and others) (45%), television (41%), and online news media (35%).
• Other sources cited include relatives and acquaintances (17%), radio (12%), and personal experience (4%). The general trend in responses remains consistent across various socio-demographic groups.
• At the same time, in western regions, respondents more often learn about prisoner exchanges through social media, while in other parts of Ukraine, Telegram or Viber channels are the primary sources. Younger respondents are more likely than other age groups to get information from messenger channels and acquaintances, whereas older respondents (51 and older) rely more on television and radio.
• Those who have relatives in captivity are more likely to learn about exchanges through online media, acquaintances, and personal experience, while those who do not have relatives in captivity most often rely on television.

Return of civilian hostages

• According to 88% of respondents, the issue of returning civilian hostages should be handled by Ukrainian state authorities. Other responses include international organisations (37%), Ukrainian charitable foundations and volunteers (27%), families, relatives of captives (21%), and local authorities (19%).
• The overall trend remains consistent across different socio-demographic groups, with respondents primarily placing responsibility on the state authorities. At the same time, residents of western and central regions are comparatively more likely to believe that international organisations, Ukrainian charitable foundations, and volunteers should also be involved in addressing the issue. Younger respondents more often believe that local authorities should take responsibility, while middle-aged respondents consider families and local authorities to play a key role.
• Those who have relatives in captivity are more likely than others to believe that international organisations should also be responsible.
• 14% of respondents are aware of NGOs working on the return of civilian hostages, while 79% are not. Awareness is comparatively higher among those who have relatives in captivity (23%) and young people (19%).
• In an open-ended question about awareness of such NGOs, respondents who knew anything about them most frequently mentioned the Red Cross (32%), Come Back Alive (21%), Ukrainian Ombudsman (7%), volunteers (5%), UN (5%), HUR (4%), Zolkin Fund (3%), and White Angels (3%). About 43 other different NGOs have been mentioned sporadically.