Who Stands by Ukraine? Determinants of European Citizens’ Transnational Solidarity with Ukraine

Abstract

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU has taken an active role in assisting Ukraine. More than three years into the war in Ukraine, public support for Ukraine among European citizens stays high (European Commission, 2025d). This high solidarity with Ukraine, a non-EU country, is puzzling since research points out that Europeans are more willing to help EU Member States over non-EU countries (Russo, 2023). Additionally, European citizens find it harder to support an active role for the EU in diplomacy and defence, fields that are traditionally seen as core state powers (Truchlewski et al., 2025). This contradiction between the literature and reality leads to the following research uestion: “Which factors determine European citizens’ transnational solidarity to support Ukraine after the 2022 Russian invasion?” To answer this question, five Eurobarometer surveys are analysed through a descriptive analysis and several multilevel models. This shows that the mean transnational solidarity with Ukraine diminishes from 2022 to 2024 but stays relatively high. The highest levels of transnational solidarity with Ukraine can be witnessed in Northern Europe and the lowest levels in Central and Eastern Europe. A combination of factors determines European citizens’ transnational solidarity with Ukraine, specifically crisis politics, cultural considerations, and utilitarian considerations. Respondents with higher threat perceptions, who identify as European, and who have positive attitudes towards immigration, tend to show higher levels of transnational solidarity with Ukraine. A smaller effect is seen for utilitarian considerations. Severe economic impact on a personal level is negatively associated with transnational solidarity, while severe economic impact at the country level is positively associated. Political ideology is not a clear-cut factor that determines European citizens’ transnational solidarity with Ukraine. All in all, crisis politics and cultural considerations have a larger effect in determining citizens’ transnational solidarity with Ukraine than utilitarian considerations.