Three Quarters of Ukrainians Support 30-Day Truce but Reject Russia’s Demands, Poll Shows
77% of Ukrainians are positive about the proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the war that Russia has unleashed against Ukraine. At the same time, 79% of respondents consider the conditions set by Russia for the ceasefire to be categorically unacceptable.
These are the results of a poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology on 12-22 March.
The sociologists note that respondents were offered 6 interpretations of the idea of a 30-day ceasefire, including 3 conditionally positive for Ukraine and 3 conditionally negative. The respondent had to choose one answer.
‘The vast majority of Ukrainians - 77% - have a positive interpretation of this proposal. Most often, respondents (47% out of 77%) said that this is a way to show that Russia does not want peace or that Russia is violating the agreements. In addition, 12% say it is a way to unblock military aid. The remaining 18% call it primarily a step towards ending the war on terms acceptable to Ukraine,’ the authors of the survey write.
Only 17% chose one of the three negative options: in particular, 8% consider it a mistake that will weaken Ukraine and 7% - a step of desperation of the Ukrainian authorities due to the difficult situation at the front. 2% of respondents perceive the proposal for a 30-day truce as a step towards Ukraine's surrender.
After a telephone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, sociologists asked Ukrainians about their attitude to the ceasefire demands voiced by the Kremlin leader. Putin demanded an end to mobilisation in Ukraine, an end to Western arms supplies and the provision of intelligence to Kyiv.
‘For the vast majority of Ukrainians - 79% - Russian demands for a ceasefire are categorically unacceptable. Only 16% are ready to accept them (of which 14% consider it a difficult option),’ the study concludes.
The sociologists emphasise that the vast majority in all regions of Ukraine reject Putin's demands (80-81% in the West, Centre and South, and 64% in the East).
In addition, 62% of respondents said they would categorically not support a temporary ceasefire if it was not accompanied by any security guarantees.
‘If Ukraine receives at least certain security guarantees, more than half of Ukrainians will support the ceasefire (albeit reluctantly). At the same time, the difference between the different options for guarantees (in terms of support from the Ukrainian public) is quite insignificant,’ the researchers noted.
In particular, the option of deploying Western peacekeepers to ensure a ceasefire is supported by 60% of respondents, while 34% are strongly against it.
If NATO membership is a guarantee of security, 58% of Ukrainians will support the ceasefire, while 32% will be strongly against it.
If support for the Ukrainian Defence Forces increases (more air defence systems, aircraft, etc.), 56% will support the ceasefire and 35% will be strongly against it.
The survey was conducted from 12 to 22 March. A total of 1,326 people aged 18 and older living in all regions of Ukraine controlled by Kyiv were interviewed by telephone using a random sample of mobile numbers.
As The Gaze reported, at talks in Saudi Arabia, the United States agreed with Ukraine and Russia on a truce in the Black Sea and a ban on strikes on energy infrastructure in both countries, the White House reports following the meeting.