Survey: Most Ukrainians Unwilling to Return to Demarcation Line Before February 24

With various peace plans being suggested by several non-European nations, world leaders and pundits, some have proposed resetting Ukraine’s borders to the territory not held by the Russian occupiers prior to its full-scale invasion. Recently published research shows this is not an option ordinary Ukrainians would accept, insisting that they must re-establish control of all its sovereign territory – siding firmly with President Zelensky. 

According to a survey conducted by the Razumkov Center on behalf of ZN.UA and published on May 27, almost 67 percent of the surveyed Ukrainians indicated their disagreement with the idea of returning to the demarcation line as it was on Feb. 24, 2022, rather than restoring the original internationally recognized borders established with Ukraine’s indepence in 1991. 

In response to the question, “Do you support direct negotiations with the Russian Federation to achieve peace?” the majority of respondents (63.9 percent) expressed a negative opinion, while 13 percent found it difficult to answer.

Only 23.1 percent of respondents expressed their willingness to support direct negotiations with Russia for peace.

Regarding the question, “If the question arises that in order to achieve peace, it is necessary to return to the demarcation line that existed before February 24, 2022, and not to the borders of 1991, would you agree to such conditions?” the majority of citizens (66.8 percent) answered: “disagree.” 

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Meanwhile, 16 percent could not answer, and only 17.2 percent of respondents affirmed their agreement.

The percentage of those willing to return to the demarcation line that existed until February 24, 2022 (17.2 percent) is lower than the percentage of those open to direct negotiations with Russia for peace (23.1 percent). 

In response to the question, “Is reconciliation between Ukraine and Russia possible?” 68.5 percent of respondents stated that reconciliation is impossible.

Among those taking the survey, 36.3 percent see no prospects for reconciliation at all, while 32.2 percent believe reconciliation is impossible in the lifetime of the current generation.

The survey also revealed that 84 percent of Ukrainians have a negative attitude toward Russian citizens to some extent.

Specifically, 34.6 percent of respondents believe that Russians collectively bear responsibility for the war with Ukraine, regardless of their political beliefs.

However, 26.1 percent of Ukrainians hold a negative attitude toward all Russian citizens except for those actively opposing the war and the Kremlin, while 23.3 percent exhibit negativity only toward Russian citizens who support Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

The survey was conducted from April 28 to May 3 through face-to-face interviews in 22 regions of Ukraine and Kyiv.

A total of 2,020 respondents over the age of 18 were surveyed, with a theoretical sampling error not exceeding 2.3 percent.