According to a recent opinion poll taken by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, almost one third of Ukrainians are now prepared to make territorial concessions to Russia if this brings the Russian war of aggression to a swift end and preserves their country’s independence. But more than half of the population rejects the idea of giving up territory for peace.
This may give an impression of a solid majority against concessions, but the increase among those willing to compromise is dramatic. It had remained at or below 10% until May, 2023. But with relentless bad news form the battlefront since the failure of last year’s spring and summer offensive, it has risen steadily to the current 32%.
The growing war-weariness of increasing numbers of Ukrainians is unlikely to be reversed anytime soon given that Russia continues to advance along the almost 1,200km-long frontline, especially in the critical Donetsk sector. Although, it must be noted, there have been no significant strategic breakthroughs – and the advances have come at tremendous cost in terms of lives on both sides.
Even if a majority of Ukrainians were eventually willing to trade some territory for peace, it’s not clear what a credible peace plan would look like.
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