By Dan Peleschuk
KYIV, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Three-quarters of Ukrainians reject major concessions in any peace deal, a Kyiv pollster said on Monday, highlighting the challenge facing President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as he negotiates under White House pressure to end the war with Russia.
Ukraine has sought to push back on an original U.S.-backed plan it and its European allies saw as favourable to Moscow, which is demanding that Kyiv give up its entire eastern Donbas region and significantly restrict its military capabilities.
The poll, by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, found that 72% of Ukrainians were prepared for a deal that froze the current front line and contained some compromises.
However, 75% believed a Russia-friendly plan that included Ukraine ceding territory or capping the size of its army without receiving clear security guarantees was “completely unacceptable”.
The survey was conducted between late November and mid-December, and included 547 respondents across Ukrainian-controlled territory.
UKRAINIANS SCEPTICAL OF U.S. SUPPORT
KIIS executive director Anton Hrushetskyi said public opinion on the matter had remained stable in recent months amid mounting U.S. pressure.
Sixty-three percent of Ukrainians were ready to continue fighting, and just 9% believed the war would end by early 2026.
U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed Ukraine to quickly secure peace in the nearly four-year-old war, as Russia’s bigger and better-armed military grinds forward on the battlefield.
Kyiv and its European allies are seeking security guarantees from Washington as part of any deal, with Zelenskiy saying on Sunday that Ukraine would drop its NATO ambitions in exchange.
However, just 21% of Ukrainians trust Washington – down from 41% last December. Trust in NATO also fell to 34% from 43% over the same period.
“If security guarantees are not unambiguous and binding… Ukrainians will not trust them, and this will affect the general readiness to approve the corresponding peace plan,” wrote Hrushetskyi.
NO APPETITE FOR ELECTION
Trump has also renewed his call for an election in Ukraine, which is prohibited under martial law.
Zelenskiy, whose first term expired last year, signalled this month he would be open to a new vote if the U.S. could take the lead in ensuring security.
Yet only 9% of Ukrainians wanted an election before fighting ends, the KIIS poll found.
Trust in Zelenskiy likely dipped following a major corruption scandal last month, but it is now back up at 61% after the dismissal of his top aide and new U.S. pressure, said Hrushetskyi.
“Therefore, the insistence on elections in Ukraine is critically perceived by the public and is regarded as an attempt to weaken the country,” he said.
(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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