A record 83 percent of Ukrainians would like their country to join NATO, a Kyiv-based opinion pollster said, citing a survey conducted after Kyiv applied to join the military bloc.

The Oct. 1-2 poll of 2,000 respondents by Rating Group was conducted after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Sept. 30 that Ukraine was submitting an expedited application for NATO membership.

Rating Group said the percentage of those supporting NATO membership was the highest ever recorded by a survey in Ukraine. Only 4 percent said they would vote against joining the bloc and 9 percent said they would not vote.

By contrast, in November, 55 percent voiced support for joining the bloc, illustrating how sharply public opinion has changed on the question of NATO since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia has, for years, fiercely opposed the expansion of the alliance, which it sees as a security threat and hostile. (Reuters)