The Daily Populous Wednesday December 17th, 2025 morning edition
Authored by kyivindependent.com and submitted by St_Gregory_Nazianzus

A new poll found Ukrainians remain open to a peace deal with security guarantees but overwhelmingly reject a plan that would force a complete withdrawal from Donetsk Oblast.

A strong majority of Ukrainians — 75% — rejected a proposed peace plan that would involve the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donbas, military restrictions, and no concrete security guarantees, according to a new public opinion poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), published on Dec. 15.

Sixty-three percent of the 547 adults surveyed nationwide — a slight increase from 62% in September this year — said they were ready to endure the war "as long as necessary."

The numbers come despite a difficult situation on the front line, constant Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, and strong U.S. pressure on Kyiv to accept Moscow's demands for Ukraine to withdraw from the rest of Donetsk Oblast.

Closely reflecting Kyiv's public position at talks with the U.S. and European partners, 72% of respondents said they were ready to accept a peace deal that froze territorial control at the current line of contact, included robust security guarantees, and did not involve the formal recognition of any of the occupied territories as Russian.

The poll also examined domestic political sentiments. Despite the fallout from the major corruption scandal that unfolded over the past months and resulted in the resignation of Presidential Office head Andrii Yermak, 61% of respondents said they trusted President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Meanwhile, in a clear rebuttal of the persistent calls from the Trump administration, only 9% of respondents said they wanted elections before the end of hostilities.

The survey was conducted via telephone interviews with 547 adult respondents living in government-controlled areas of Ukraine between Nov. 26 and Dec. 13, 2025. It did not include residents of temporarily occupied territories or those who left the country after February 2022.

stab-man on December 16th, 2025 at 21:41 UTC »

And it’s not because we want war to continue. It is because we know that giving russia our territory will not end the war.

BassDaddy0 on December 16th, 2025 at 21:23 UTC »

Probably because they know the "peace plan" won't really end the war. Putin will claim the win, regroup, and then fabricate a reason to launch another assault.

wwarnout on December 16th, 2025 at 20:53 UTC »

As they should. Russia has no legitimate right to steal Ukrainian land.

Too bad we don't have some world body that could settle this dispute. In this particular case, Russia should be told, "You invaded, you have no rights in this dispute. Get out, or you will be sanctioned by every country."

Yeah, I know - dream on.