Faculty from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Show How Russia’s 2022 Invasion Welded Ukrainians Together
A new piece in The Conversation by University of Tennessee, Knoxville, faculty—School of Information Sciences Assistant Professor and Information Integrity Institute Senior Faculty Fellow Ben Horne, School of Journalism and Media Professor and Information Integrity Institute Director Catherine Luther, together with Department of Anthropology Professor R. Alexander Bentley—spotlights research into Ukrainian sentiment before and after Russia’s invasion, exposing Russia’s misreading of the country’s Russian-speaking regions and the enduring backlash.
Funded by the US Department of Defense Minerva Research Initiative Grant, Horne and his colleagues found that Russia’s invasion galvanized Ukrainian public opinion in a way not seen in neighboring Belarus.
Just before the 2022 invasion, blame for tensions was split with 36 percent in eastern and 51 percent in southern Ukraine faulted Russia. Six months later, opinions converged: about 97 percent of Ukrainians nationwide, including 96 percent in both east and south of the country, identified Russia as the aggressor. The invasion of Russia swiftly erased long-standing regional, linguistic, and religious divisions, the authors explain.
Ukraine’s unity carries significant implications for current peace proposals, including scenarios that would freeze the existing front lines. Survey data, which include respondents in the Ukrainian cities of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, show that even Russian-speaking residents have adopted a stronger Ukrainian identity since the invasion.
Read the full analysis in The Conversation: Russia’s invasion united different parts of Ukraine against a common enemy–3 years on, that unanimity still holds (May 21, 2025).