Ukrainians are not ready to cede territories to end the war — the poll

82% of Ukrainians consider any territorial concessions to end the war as unacceptable, while only 10% of respondents are willing to cede some territories to reach peace, says  the poll  conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) between May 13 and 18.

The majority of residents from all Ukraine-controlled regions are against any territorial concessions:

• in the western regions, 84% are not ready to cede territories, and 8% support territorial concessions;
• in the central regions, for 85% of respondents no territorial concessions are allowed, and 9% believe that some territories can be abandoned to reach peace and preserve independence;
• in the eastern regions, which are currently experiencing intense fighting, 68% oppose concessions, while 19% are ready to make concessions;
• in the southern regions, 83% oppose concessions, and 9% are ready for them.

Among the respondents who now live in the occupied territories, 77% are against any territorial concessions, but 18% are willing to give up some territories. For respondents who left the occupied territories after February 24, 82% oppose any concessions, while only 5% support them.

More about the poll

The poll was conducted between May 13 and 18 using the method of computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) based on a random sample of mobile telephone numbers. Two thousand respondents over the age of 18 from all regions of Ukraine were interviewed, except for the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas (occupied territories until February 24, 2022). Citizens who left Ukraine after February 24 did not participate in the poll.

Under usual circumstances, the statistical sampling error (with a probability of 0.95 and taking into account the design effect of 1.1) does not exceed: 2.4% for indicators close to 50%, 2.1% for indicators close to 25%, 1.5% - for indicators close to 10%, 1.1% – for indicators close to 5%.

During the war, in addition to statistical sampling error, a certain systematic deviation and a decrease in representativeness are observed. However, sociologists emphasize that the polls remain highly representative and allow a reliable analysis of public attitudes.