European Ukrainians and their fight against Russian invasion

Abstract Is there evidence of significant ethno‐linguistic/ethno‐national rallying around the nation in Ukraine—as social science would have us expect in times of conflict? And, if so, might we expect this ethno‐linguistic/ethno‐national identity to rise with the prolongation of war? Or instead, is Ukrainian “civic‐ness” the primary rally call that shaped and shapes collective identity in Ukraine? And if this collective identity is not ethno‐linguistic in orientation then what values and political dispositions are bringing Ukrainians together in a time of crisis and war? Whilst political science might suggest that violence and extended periods of war can produce rallying to ethno‐linguistic/ethno‐national identity—original panel survey data collected among the Ukrainian population in March/April 2019, January/February 2021, and 2 December 2021/16 February 2022 coupled with a cross‐sectional nationally representative survey collected 19–24 May 2022 provide evidence that ongoing regional war, crises, and now all‐out invasion by Russia have shored up civic and not ethno‐linguistic/ethno‐national identities. Moreover, this civic identity is bounded to pro‐European pro‐democratic orientations.