54% of Ukrainians firmly oppose ceding Donbas for security guarantees – KIIS poll

At the same time, 39% expressed readiness to consider such a concession, though most acknowledged it as an extremely difficult question. Another 5% were unable to decide on their position.

Sociologists identified three main reasons why Ukrainians reject the idea of “surrendering” Donbas:

• 35% believe Russia would not stop and would continue its aggression against Ukraine.
• 33% stress that Ukraine cannot simply give up its territories and people, as this contradicts the Constitution and principles of territorial integrity.
• 25% do not believe in the realism of security guarantees from the West.

The survey was conducted from Jan. 9 to 14, 2026, via telephone interviews of a random sample of mobile numbers. Sociologists interviewed 601 respondents aged 18 and older in the government-controlled territory of Ukraine. The poll did not cover residents of temporarily occupied territories or citizens who left the country after Feb. 24, 2022.

The formal statistical margin of error for the sample (with 0.95 probability and taking into account a design effect of 1.3) does not exceed 5.3% for indicators close to 50%. Due to wartime conditions, additional systematic deviation is possible.