Most Germans are dissatisfied with Berlin’s policies regarding Ukraine, according to a new survey. Many believe the government is doing too much for Ukrainians that arrived in Germany after the start of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, while not doing enough to help end the fighting, a poll conducted by INSA polling institute for the tabloid Bild shows.
Almost 50% of respondents said Ukrainian refugees receive ‘too much support’, with 35% calling the current level of aid appropriate, and only 5% describing it as insufficient. More than half of those surveyed also believe that efforts to integrate Ukrainians into German society has failed, and less than 30% say the efforts have been somewhat successful.
The number of Ukrainians living in Germany has risen from 138,000 in January 2022 to 1.15 million, Bild reported, citing the Federal Statistical Office. Ukrainians now make up 1.4% of the population, it added.
Last summer, the tabloid also reported that Ukrainians became the biggest foreign welfare recipient group in the country and accounted for 30% of all foreigners receiving welfare payments in Germany. Berlin eased regulations for Ukrainians compared to asylum seekers from other nations. People from Ukraine do not have to apply for asylum and are automatically entitled to regular welfare payments, Bild reported at the time.
A survey conducted last summer by several German research institutions and the federal migration agency showed that only 18% of Ukrainian refugees in Germany had found a job by that time – though 44% of them said they would like to stay in the country.
This week’s poll by INSA also shows that Germans fear that the ongoing conflict could spill over to NATO territory, becoming a major war between Russia and the US-led bloc. Around 61% of respondents said they were concerned about this possibility.
Almost half of Germans also said that Berlin should not send long-range Taurus missiles to Kiev. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far been reluctant to do so despite Ukraine’s requests.
The survey involved 1,003 people across the country and was conducted from February 22 to 23.