Poll shows Ukrainians want European troops near front in ceasefire deal
Kyiv residents descend into metro stations during massive Russian attack (Photo: REUTERS/Alina Smutko)
A majority of Ukrainians — 61% — support a ceasefire along
the current front line if troops from European countries are deployed near the
front in Ukraine, while 33% oppose that option, according to a KIIS
poll conducted from May 7 to June 3, 2026.
Respondents were offered four ceasefire scenarios:
- Scenario No. 1 — no security guarantees. Fighting stops, but
Ukraine receives neither security guarantees nor increased financial and
military aid.
- Scenario No. 2 — a symbolic European troop presence. Troops
from European countries are deployed in Ukraine, but far from the front, and
would not take part in combat if Russia attacks again.
- Scenario No. 3 — Ukraine’s own forces and allied resources.
Allies provide Ukraine with increased financial and military support, including
missiles.
- Scenario No. 4 — a European shield. Troops from European
countries are deployed near the front line and would take part in combat if
Russia attacks again.
The poll found that if Ukraine receives no security
guarantees and no major supplies of financial and military aid, 61% would
categorically reject a ceasefire proposal along the current front line. Another
32% would be ready to approve it, mostly reluctantly.
If troops from European countries were deployed in Ukraine
far from the front and would not take part in combat in the event of another
Russian attack, 42% would be ready to approve a ceasefire along the front line.
Another 49% would categorically reject that proposal.
Under a scenario in which security guarantees come in the
form of large-scale financial and military aid, 53% would be ready to approve a
ceasefire along the current front line. Another 37% would categorically reject
that scenario.
The most popular option was the one in which troops from
European countries would be deployed near the front in Ukraine and would help
repel an attack if Russia invaded again. Under that scenario, 61% would be
ready to approve a ceasefire along the front line, while 33% would categorically
reject it.
KIIS conducted the poll from May 7 to June 3, 2026, using
telephone interviews based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers in all
Ukrainian regions controlled by the government. A total of 2,007 respondents
were surveyed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on June 4 that
Ukraine was ready to accept a full ceasefire during negotiations with Russia,
provided the United States could ensure monitoring along the ceasefire line.
Ukraine-Russia peace talks
After trilateral meetings in early 2026, talks in the
Ukraine-Russia-U.S. format stalled amid the war in Iran.
National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem
Umerov met in the United States on May 7 with U.S. representatives Witkoff and
Kushner. The same day, the Kremlin said it considered trilateral talks in the
U.S.-Ukraine-Russia format inappropriate until Ukraine withdraws its troops
from the part of Donbas it controls.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin unexpectedly said on May 9
that the war in Ukraine was “nearing an end.” At the same time, Russia resumed
strikes on Ukraine immediately after the three-day ceasefire from May 9 to 11
ended.
Donald Trump said on May 12 that the end of the war in
Ukraine was “very close.” He planned to discuss the issue during a meeting with
Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
The Kremlin repeated its ultimatum on May 13 that Ukraine’s
Defense Forces withdraw from Donbas. Zelenskyy had previously said Ukraine
would never agree to that.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on May 22 that
trilateral talks on ending Russia’s war against Ukraine had so far produced no
results, but that the United States was ready to organize a new round.
“We are not interested in participating in an endless cycle
of meetings that lead nowhere,” Rubio added.
Rubio said during a June 3 hearing in the House Foreign
Affairs Committee that the prospects for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia
currently “do not look very good,” and that neither side had shown a
willingness to make concessions — especially the Kremlin.
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