About 66% of Ukrainians believe Russia aims to destroy Ukraine and will not stop at territories it currently occupies, according to a new survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).
The survey results come amid concerns that President Donald Trump’s push for a swift end to the war could lead to a peace deal on unfavorable terms for Ukraine. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested on 10 March that Ukraine would need to make territorial concessions to end the war.
The poll found that 87% of Ukrainians believe Russia intends to continue its aggression beyond the currently occupied territories. This view is consistent across all oblasts of Ukraine.
Some 66% of Ukrainians believe that Russia’s current goal is to destroy Ukraine and Ukrainians: Russia wants to either commit physical genocide against Ukrainians (28%), or seize all/most of Ukraine’s territory and destroy Ukrainian statehood and the nation (38%), the KIIS survey showed.
According to KIIS, regional differences exist but show strong consensus. Between 80% in the east and south and 89-90% in the west and center agree that Russia will not stop at current front lines.
An additional 14% of respondents believe Russia seeks to occupy most or all of Ukraine and install a puppet government. Another 7% think Moscow wants to consolidate control over partially-occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
The findings align with statements of Russia’s Defense Minister Andrei Belousov who said in December 2024 that Moscow aims to capture the entirety of four Ukrainian oblasts this year.
Only 4% of respondents believe Russia aims to maintain control over existing territorial gains. Just 3% accept Russia’s claim that it wants to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine. The remaining 7% were undecided.
KIIS conducted the survey between 14 February and 4 March, 2025. Researchers interviewed 1,029 respondents aged 18 and older by telephone across all Ukrainian government-controlled oblasts.
The institute notes that “the higher threat Ukrainians perceive, the more they are willing to continue the resistance and reject unacceptable demands.”
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