A large majority of Ukrainians oppose a peace proposal that would require Ukraine to withdraw from the eastern Donbas region and cap the size of its armed forces without firm security guarantees, according to a new nationwide survey.
The poll, released on Jan. 2 by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, found that 74 percent of respondents are against such a plan. The survey was conducted between Nov. 26 and Dec. 29 among roughly 1,000 Ukrainians across the country.
At the same time, the findings indicate conditional openness to other forms of conflict resolution. Sixty-nine percent of respondents said they would support a peace plan that freezes the war if it includes credible security guarantees and does not require Ukraine to officially recognize Russian-occupied territories as part of Russia, the institute said.
The results come as U.S. President Donald Trump continues efforts to broker an end to the war, nearly a year after launching peace talks that have produced limited progress. An earlier U.S.-backed 28-point proposal was widely rejected in Ukraine, with critics describing it as unacceptable. That framework included provisions for Ukraine’s withdrawal from parts of Donbas, reductions to the military, and the suspension of NATO ambitions, which Ukrainian officials said closely aligned with Russia’s maximalist demands.
President Volodymyr Zelensky later presented a revised 20-point framework on Dec. 23. If agreed to by Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and European partners, the plan would initiate a ceasefire in the nearly four-year-long full-scale war.
Despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, expectations for a near-term end to the conflict remain low inside Ukraine. According to the same poll, only 10 percent of Ukrainians believe the war will end by the beginning of 2026, while 16 percent expect it to conclude in the first half of that year.
Public skepticism is not limited to Ukraine. A separate Economist/YouGov poll conducted in the United States between Dec. 26 and Dec. 29 among about 1,500 respondents found that 49 percent disapprove of how President Trump is handling the war. The survey also showed that 29 percent support increasing U.S. military aid to Ukraine, while 20 percent favor keeping assistance at current levels.
