Poll shows decline in Ukrainians willing to endure war long term

As of early March, 54% of respondents said they were prepared to endure the war for as long as needed.

The survey shows a noticeable drop compared with late January, when 65% expressed the same view. By mid-February, that figure had fallen to 52%.

KIIS said the March survey confirmed the downward trend, though without further deterioration for now.

“The March survey confirms the negative trend, but without additional decline at this stage,” sociologists said. “Thus, 54% of Ukrainians are ready to endure the war for as long as necessary. At the same time, 28% say they are willing to endure it for a shorter period, such as several months to half a year.”

According to KIIS, the decline is most evident among respondents who were previously open to difficult compromises, including exchanging control over parts of Donetsk Oblast for security guarantees.

Sociologists suggest that these respondents may have had elevated expectations for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia at the end of January. When it became clearer in February that talks were not producing tangible progress, this had a demoralizing effect on that segment of the population.

The survey was conducted using telephone interviews based on a random sample of mobile numbers. A total of 1,003 respondents aged 18 and older living in government-controlled areas of Ukraine were surveyed.

Under standard conditions, the statistical margin of error does not exceed 4.1% for indicators close to 50%, 3.5% for those near 25%, 2.5% for those near 10%, and 1.8% for those near 5%, with a confidence level of 0.95 and a design effect of 1.3.