Most Ukrainians reject territorial concessions, 39% back freezing the front line – survey

A survey has found that 53% of Ukrainians are categorically opposed to any territorial concessions, 33% are generally willing to accept certain territorial losses, and 14% were unable to decide. However, 39% are prepared to freeze the front line without officially recognising any occupied territories as part of Russia.

Source: a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) between 26 November and 29 December 2025

Details: Sociologists note that there are several interpretations of what constitutes "territorial concessions". For this reason, in May-June 2025, in addition to the original monitoring question, the KIIS for the first time formulated three alternative versions that more clearly specified what was meant by "territorial concessions".

Respondents were asked: Which of the following statements about possible compromises to achieve peace with Russia do you agree with the most?

When it comes to the official recognition of certain territories as part of Russia, a majority (58%) are opposed. A quarter of respondents (25%) said they would be ready to accept such a scenario (referring to "certain territories", not all occupied areas; opinions vary significantly depending on which territories are meant). Compared with early October 2025, the share of those willing to accept this option has remained unchanged (24%), while the proportion of those categorically rejecting it has decreased from 67% to 58%, largely due to a rise in uncertainty (the share of those unable to decide increased from 9% to 17%).

An overwhelming majority – 66% – also reject handing over territories currently controlled by Ukraine to Russia. Only 18% said they would be prepared to accept such a scenario. As in the previous case, the slight decrease in rejection since early October 2025 is explained by a growing number of undecided respondents.

Regarding the option of freezing the front line without officially recognising any occupied territories as part of Russia, 50% categorically reject this approach, while 39% would be prepared to support it. In early October 2025, 56% rejected this option and 35% supported it, meaning that willingness to endorse this approach has increased, although it remains lower than in May-June 2025.

Which statement best reflects your view on possible compromises to achieve peace with Russia?

For reference: The KIIS survey was conducted between 26 November and 29 December 2025 using telephone interviews based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers across all regions of Ukraine under government control. A total of 1,001 respondents aged 18 and over were interviewed.

Residents of territories temporarily not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities were not included in the sample (although some respondents were internally displaced persons from occupied territories). Ukrainians who had left the country after 24 February 2022 were also not surveyed.

Under normal circumstances, the statistical margin of error for such a sample (with a 0.95 probability and a design effect of 1.3) does not exceed 4.1% for indicators close to 50%, 3.5% for those close to 25%, 2.5% for those close to 10%, and 1.8% for those close to 5%.

In wartime conditions, in addition to the stated formal margin of error, a certain degree of systematic deviation is also present. The factors that may affect the quality of the results under wartime conditions have been previously outlined by the KIIS.

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