‘Peace, Not Surrender’: Ukrainians No Longer Believe Putin Can Be Beaten

After more than three years of Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion, the war’s scars stretch far beyond the frontline. Ukrainians are exhausted from the relentless waves of missile and drone attacks, with Kyiv regularly facing massive assaults and cities deep in western Ukraine, including Lviv, no longer spared from deadly air strikes.

Even hundreds of miles from the front lines, civilians see the human cost of war, with young veterans missing limbs navigating train stations, metros and supermarkets.

There’s no question of the intense longing for peace in the country, but there’s an equally strong feeling that conceding territory to Russia for any potential end to the fighting would make the immense sacrifices made by so many meaningless.

Polls conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology at the start of the invasion found around 9 out of 10 Ukrainians said that under no circumstances should the country give up any of its territories. More recent surveys show that roughly half of Ukrainians still outright reject territorial concessions. Around 39% say they are prepared to consider them.

Another poll, conducted by Gallup in July, found that 69% of Ukrainians now favour a negotiated end to the war as soon as possible, compared to just 24% who support continuing to fight until they are victorious. Back in 2022, 73% of respondents backed fighting on and only 22% believed talks were the way forward. (Read more from “‘Peace, Not Surrender’: Ukrainians No Longer Believe Putin Can Be Beaten” HERE)