More than half of Kherson's residents do not trust the military administrations

More than half of the residents of the Kherson region surveyed do not trust local military administrations. In contrast, the civil society and volunteer sectors received the highest level of trust among all sectors.

This is evidenced by data from the analytical report “Kherson Region: The Path to Recovery,” prepared by the Kherson Regional Charitable Foundation “Ob’ednannya” with support from the European Endowment for Democracy.

54.8% of respondents stated that they either somewhat or completely do not trust local authorities or the military administration. Only 34.9% of respondents gave a positive answer, while another 10.2% were undecided.

The main reasons for the crisis of trust are a lack of direct dialogue and effective communication—cited by 38.6% of respondents—as well as doubts about official information: 70.5% of citizens have reservations regarding its completeness and reliability.

In contrast to the government, the civil society sector received predominantly positive ratings. 78.9% of respondents rate the work of civil society and volunteer organizations as very or somewhat effective. Negative ratings account for only 10.8% in total.

Nearly all survey participants—89.8%—noted that they personally or their families had received assistance from civil society or volunteer organizations.

The report’s authors explain this difference: civil society organizations often have greater freedom of movement within the territory than government agencies, have a better understanding of the local context, and are quicker to adapt their working methods depending on the security situation.

At the same time, 70.5% of respondents believe that coordination and information sharing among civil society organizations themselves also need to be improved.

It is worth noting that the Kherson Regional Military Administration (RMA) has been operational since February 24, 2022, when Presidential Decree No. 68/2022 established regional military administrations.

The Kherson City Military Administration (CMA) was established on September 19, 2022, also by presidential decree.

In addition, between September and December 2022, a number of other city, town, and village military administrations were established in the Kherson region.

Ірина Глухова