Reliable primary data from Ukraine’s frontline regions in 2026
The Centre for Applied Research is one of the few research organizations in Ukraine maintaining active data collection capacity in frontline and near-frontline regions. Since 2014, and continuously since the full-scale Russian invasion of 2022, our enumerator networks have conducted face-to-face surveys, telephone interviews, focus groups, and needs assessments in communities living under direct threat of shelling, drone attacks, and displacement.
Where we conduct frontline fieldwork as of 2026
Our coverage of frontline and conflict-affected regions is organized by oblast (region). Accessibility is reviewed continuously against the security situation; the lists below reflect government-controlled settlements where we can currently mobilize fieldwork.
Kharkiv Oblast
Fieldwork in the city of Kharkiv and across the oblast, including Chuhuiv, Balakliia, Izium, Lozova, Pervomaiskyi, Merefa, Bohodukhiv, Derhachi, and Zmiiv. This includes de-occupied communities of the Izium and Balakliia hromadas, where we have conducted post-de-occupation needs assessments and protection monitoring. Settlements in the Kupiansk direction are assessed case by case depending on the current security situation.
Sumy Oblast
Fieldwork in Sumy, Okhtyrka, Konotop, Shostka, Romny, Lebedyn, and Trostianets, including border hromadas subject to regular cross-border shelling. Our enumerators in Sumy oblast work under protocols developed specifically for communities within artillery and FPV-drone range of the state border.
Chernihiv Oblast
Fieldwork in Chernihiv, Nizhyn, Pryluky, Novhorod-Siverskyi and Koriukivka, including northern border communities affected by strikes and the legacy of the 2022 Russian occupation.
Donetsk Oblast (government-controlled areas)
Fieldwork in the rear communities of government-controlled Donetsk oblast, including Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, and Druzhkivka, subject to continuous security review. These are among the most demanding fieldwork environments in Ukraine, and coverage is confirmed on a project-by-project basis in coordination with local authorities. Settlements in active combat zones are not surveyed in person; where data from such communities is required, we combine interviews with recently evacuated residents, online and telephone methodologies, and key-informant networks.
Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Fieldwork in the city of Zaporizhzhia and rear hromadas of the oblast, including Vilniansk and Zaporizhzhia raion communities hosting large displaced populations. Frontline hromadas of the Orikhiv and Huliaipole directions are covered through evacuee interviews and remote methodologies.
Kherson Oblast
Fieldwork in the city of Kherson and government-controlled right-bank communities, including Bilozerka and Chornobaivka, under the strictest tier of our security protocols, reflecting the daily drone and artillery threat. Kherson oblast fieldwork is planned around movement restrictions and conducted by enumerators resident in the communities surveyed.
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
Fieldwork in Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Pavlohrad, Kamianske, Synelnykove, Nikopol, and Marhanets. The Nikopol–Marhanets agglomeration, under regular fire from across the Dnipro River, is covered by locally resident enumerators. Communities of the eastern raions affected by evacuation orders are assessed case by case.
Mykolaiv and Odesa Oblasts
Fieldwork in Mykolaiv, Voznesensk, Pervomaisk, Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Izmail – regions affected by strikes on port, energy, and civilian infrastructure, and hosting significant displaced populations.
Settlement-level accessibility changes with the security situation. For any specific hromada, contact us for a current feasibility assessment.
What we deliver in frontline regions
- Household and individual surveys (F2F/CAPI) – needs assessments, baseline and endline surveys, multi-sector needs assessments (MSNA-type designs)
- Post-distribution monitoring (PDM) – verification and beneficiary feedback for cash, in-kind, and shelter programming
- Third-party monitoring (TPM) – independent verification of programme delivery for donors and implementing partners
- Protection monitoring – structured data collection on protection risks, access to services, and population movement intentions
- Qualitative research – in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with residents, evacuees, local authorities, and service providers
- Key-informant interviews (KII) – hromada officials, medical and education staff, volunteers, and community leaders
- Market and infrastructure assessments – market functionality, price monitoring, and service availability in conflict-affected communities
How frontline fieldwork differs: our protocols
Locally resident enumerators. We do not send survey teams into high-risk areas from Kyiv. Our enumerators live in the communities they survey, know the local threat picture, and hold established trust with residents, which also materially improves response rates and data quality.
Security and duty-of-care framework. Every frontline project operates under a written security protocol covering movement rules, no-go criteria, communication schedules, incident response, and insurance for field staff. Fieldwork is suspended immediately when threat levels change.
Respondent protection. Anonymized data collection, no geolocation of individual respondents in high-risk areas, secure data transfer, and GDPR-compliant storage. Informed-consent scripts are adapted for populations under stress, with referral pathways to psychosocial and humanitarian services.
Methodological adaptation. Sampling frames in frontline regions account for displacement, destroyed housing stock, and population movement. We combine registers, local authority data, and field enumeration to construct defensible samples where official statistics no longer reflect reality – and we document every adaptation transparently in the methodology report.
Hybrid designs where in-person access is impossible. For occupied or active-combat settlements, we design different approaches: interviews with recent evacuees, CATI where networks function, and key-informant chains .
Who commissions frontline research
Our frontline and conflict-affected fieldwork serves UN agencies, international NGOs, donor governments, think tanks, and media organizations. Typical assignments include humanitarian needs assessments, evaluations of recovery and resilience programming, research on return intentions of displaced persons, studies of veteran reintegration in frontline hromadas, and independent monitoring of aid delivery. Clients of the Centre for Applied Research include United Nations Ukraine, Geneva Call, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Shell, Deloitte, and McKinsey & Company.
Frequently asked questions
Can you conduct surveys in Kharkiv, Kherson, or Zaporizhzhia right now?
Yes. We maintain active enumerator networks in all three cities and their government-controlled surrounding hromadas. Feasibility for specific settlements is confirmed at proposal stage against the current security situation.
Do you survey in occupied territories of Ukraine?
We do not conduct in-person fieldwork in occupied territories. Where clients need insight into these areas, we design indirect methodologies — evacuee interviews, telephone research where feasible, and key-informant approaches with transparent documentation of their limitations.
How quickly can frontline fieldwork be mobilized?
For standard designs in cities where we hold active networks (Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Kherson), mobilization typically takes days rather than weeks, since enumerators are locally resident and pre-trained.
How do you ensure data quality under these conditions?
Multi-stage quality assurance: GPS- and time-stamped CAPI interviews (with geodata handled under respondent-protection rules), audio audit of a sample of interviews where safe, back-checks by supervisors, and logic-check run daily during fieldwork.
Is it ethical to survey people living under fire?
Only with adapted protocols, which is precisely why specialized capacity matters. Participation is voluntary and pressure-free, interviews are scheduled around threat patterns, consent scripts acknowledge stress, and enumerators are trained in psychological first aid and referral.
Commission a study or request a feasibility assessment
Tell us the settlements, population, and questions you need answered. We will respond within 24 hours with an assessment of feasibility, a methodological outline, and indicative timelines and costs.
Centre for Applied Research — social and market research in Ukraine and 14 other countries of Europe and North America since 2013.
E-mail: polls@cpd.com.ua