71% of Ukrainians strongly agree that Ukraine should continue repelling the Russian war of aggression even if the shelling of civilian infrastructure continues. Also, 15% rather agree with this statement.
At the same time, only 10% strongly agree or rather agree with the statement that Ukraine should start negotiations with Russia as soon as possible to stop the shelling of peaceful cities even if Ukraine would have to make concessions to Russia.
That’s according to the sociological survey of the Kyiv International Institute of sociology that was conducted on 21-23 October 2022.
While people from all regions as well as both Ukrainian and Russian speakers in Ukraine strongly back Ukraine’s further fight despite shelling, there are some regional and language divisions. In the east (Ukrainian-controlled parts of Kharkiv and Donetsk Oblast), contrary to other regions, 69% say Ukraine should continue fighting while 29% say it should negotiate. (86-89% vs 6-12% in other regions). Also, those who choose the Russian language for the interview tend to favor continuing the fight slightly less than those who chose Ukraine. 89% of those who chose the Ukrainian language said to continue the fight while 66% of those who chose the Russian language chose the same.
The share of Russian speakers in Ukraine declined dramatically with the start of the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022. At the same time, the majority of Russian speakers are still pro-Ukrainian in their political views and many are fighting on the frontline despite Russian propaganda.
