Nearly one in seven Ukrainians would support a peace plan that freezes the conflict along the current front line, includes security guarantees, and avoids officially recognizing occupied territories as part of Russia.
But a plan that would see Ukraine’s military withdraw from government-held areas and face limits on its forces is opposed by three-quarters of Ukrainians, according to a survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).
The poll was conducted November 26–December 29, 2025, among 1,001 respondents across Ukraine, excluding temporarily occupied territories.
Are Ukrainians ready for territorial concessions?
- 62% say they are prepared to endure the war as long as necessary, unchanged from October.
- 53% are categorically against territorial concessions; 33% are open to some territorial losses.
Poll on readiness for concessions. Photo: KIIS
- A majority (58%) oppose officially recognizing occupied territories as part of Russia. Another 25% would accept recognizing “some territories,” but not all occupied areas.
- Compared with October 2025, the share that categorically rejects recognition fell by 9 percentage points.
Poll on readiness for territorial concessions. Photo: KIIS
- An overwhelming 66% reject handing over areas currently controlled by Ukraine to Russia; 18% would accept it.
- 39% are ready to accept freezing the front line without officially recognizing any occupied territory as part of Russia, while 50% categorically reject this option. Previously, 56% rejected it.
Reaction to Europe’s and Russia’s plans
Respondents were asked to consider two hypothetical international plans—one aligned with Ukraine and Europe, and another aligned with Russia.
The Europe/Ukraine plan, as described by KIIS, would:
- Provide Ukraine with reliable security guarantees from Europe and the United States, including sustained supplies of weapons and funding in sufficient amounts, as well as shielding Ukraine’s skies from Russian attacks;
- Freeze the current front line, with Russia retaining control of occupied territories but without official recognition by Ukraine or the international community;
- Keep Ukraine on a path toward joining the EU;
- Maintain sanctions on Russia until a durable peace is established and the threat of a renewed Russian attack disappears.
- 69% of Ukrainians are ready to approve the Europe/Ukraine plan; only 16% categorically reject it. Willingness to accept it has risen significantly and is evident across all regions.
The Russian plan would:
- Require the US and Europe to lift all sanctions on Russia;
- Grant the Russian language official status;
- Force Ukraine to drastically reduce its army and limit armaments;
- Oblige Ukraine to renounce NATO membership forever, with the West barred from supplying arms to Ukraine;
- Give Russia the right to define Ukraine’s security guarantees and make Russia one of Ukraine’s security guarantors;
- Require Ukraine to withdraw its forces from parts of Donetsk region it currently controls, including Kramatorsk, Sloviansk and other cities;
- Make Ukraine officially recognize Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk as part of Russia and renounce them permanently;
- Allow Russia to retain control over occupied parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
- The Russian plan remains categorically unacceptable to 74% of Ukrainians, while 17% would accept it. In the south, 71% call it unacceptable; in central Ukraine, 78% do.
Europe and Russia plans. Photo: KIIS
How long are Ukrainians prepared to endure the war, and when do they expect it to end?
- 10% believed the war would end by early 2026.
- 16% expected it to end in the first half of 2026.
- 12% anticipated the second half of 2026.
- 29% said 2027 or later.
- About one in three could not say when the war would end.
- A majority (62%) continue to say they are prepared to endure the war as long as needed. Another 3% say about a year. 14% say they can endure for several months or half a year.
KIIS noted that Russian information operations continue to target Ukrainians and have persuaded some that responsibility for outages lies with Ukrainian authorities or Western partners rather than Russia.
- 54% say Russian strikes are the main reason, noting it is impossible to fully protect against them.
- 31% blame Ukrainian authorities for, in their view, inadequate preparation; in western Ukraine, 43% blame the authorities, compared with 20% in the east.
- 7% cite insufficient support from Western partners as the main reason.
Whom do Ukrainians blame for the lack of electricity? Photo: KIIS
A mid-December poll showed that parties led by Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Petro Poroshenko and Andriy Biletsky top voter preferences for a future parliamentary election if the war ends.
More than half of Ukrainians believe President Volodymyr Zelensky should complete just one term and not run again.
At the same time, despite differing views, trust in Zelensky still outweighs distrust.
