As of December 2023, some 19% of Ukrainians surveyed are ready for territorial concessions, but the majority of respondents believe that Ukraine should not give up its territories, according to the results of a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) on November 29 – December 9, 2023.
“After May 2023, there is a gradual increase in the share of those who are ready for territorial concessions: from 10% in May to 14% in October and up to 19% in December. Along with this, there is a tendency to decrease the share of those who oppose territorial concessions (from 84% in May to 80% in October and to 74% in December), although as of now, a clear majority of Ukrainians still believe that Ukraine should not give up from any of its territories,” the report reads.
“If between May and October 2023 the increase in the share of those who are ready for territorial concessions was mainly at the expense of the South and the East, then the increase between October and December was at the expense of the West and the Center. Thus, in the West, the share of such respondents increased from 9% in October to 20%, in the Center – from 10% to 15%. In the South and East, changes in the share of those who are ready to make concessions are much less noticeable, although there are also negative trends (regarding a decrease in the share of those who are against no concessions),” it says.
“Along with this, in all regions, a clear majority of respondents (from, respectively, 68% and 69% in the South and East to 76 and 79% in the West and in the Center) still oppose Russia’s territorial concessions. If to analyze in terms of the region of residence as of the time of the interview (i.e. December 2023), similar trends can be observed. Even among residents of the South and East, who are closest to the war zone, 67% are against any territorial concessions (at the same time, 22% of those living in the South and 25% of those living in the East are ready to make concessions). The situation among residents of the West and the Center is only slightly different in the direction of only slightly lower readiness for territorial concessions,” according to the document.
“Respondents who support territorial concessions are indeed more pessimistic in their views – 22% among them believe that Russia is too strong and even adequate help from the West will not help. However, the majority (71%) of those who are ready for territorial concessions believe that with proper support from the West, Ukraine will be able to achieve success,” it says.
“On the other hand, the categories of respondents regarding the readiness of territorial concessions have opposite views on the strategy of actions in the event of a significant decrease in support for the West. Among respondents who are ready for territorial concessions, 69% would consider it expedient to stop hostilities with serious security guarantees (28% are in favor of continuing hostilities). At the same time, among respondents who are against any territorial concessions, even under the condition of a significant limitation of aid, 70% are in favor of the continuation of hostilities (and 22% are in favor of their cessation),” it states.
The survey was conducted using computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) using a random sample of mobile phone numbers (with random phone number generation followed by statistical weighting). A total of 1,031 respondents living in all regions of Ukraine (except Crimea) were surveyed.