87% of Ukrainians Say Russia Wants to Conquer More Territory Than It Already Has

The vast majority of Ukrainians – 66% – see Russia as an existential threat, believing Russia’s goal in the war is to commit physical genocide of Ukrainians, seize all or most of Ukraine’s territory, and destroy Ukraine as a nation. 

The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted a survey on Ukrainians’ perception of Russia’s goal in the war against Ukraine from Feb. 14 to March 4, 2025, a KIIS press release says. 

A total 87% of all Ukrainians said Russia does not want to stop at the Ukrainian territories it already occupied from 2014-2024. 

In western and central Ukraine, which are further from the front line, 89-90% of Ukrainians support this statement, and 80% in the eastern and southern regions, the survey says. 

“Our surveys show that the higher threat Ukrainians perceive, the more they are willing to continue the resistance and reject unacceptable demands,”  KIIS wrote. 

More citizens of Ukraine in the west (70%), in the center (68%) and in the south (62%) are convinced that Russia wants to commit physical genocide or destroy Ukrainian statehood and the nation. In the east, 46% of respondents shared this point of view. 

“From our Western partners (officials, experts, journalists), as well as from individual Ukrainian subjects, one can often hear that Ukrainians are “very tired.” And “between the lines” one can understand the following thought – Ukrainians are striving for peace at all costs. Ukrainians are indeed tired, but in all our surveys we see that Ukrainians are still categorically against peace “under any conditions.” That is, despite fatigue, the will to fight remains undeniable and the majority of Ukrainians are ready to endure war for as long as necessary,” KIIS quotes deputy head Anton Hrushetskyi.

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Another 14% of respondents believe that Russia wants to seize all or most of the territory and then establish a puppet government in Ukraine. Also 7% think that Russia seeks to seize all of Donbas and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, which are already partly under its occupation. 

Only 4% of Ukrainians think that Russia’s goal is only to retain its currently occupied territories and make no claims to others. 

A total 3% believe that Russia only wants to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine, which is a  key part of Russian propaganda. Russia falsely portrays Ukraine as being controlled by Nazis. The remaining 7% could not answer the question. 

US President Donald  Trump repeatedly stated that he wants to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine as soon as possible.

“Nowadays, one can often hear the statement of G. Meir, “You cannot negotiate with someone who has come to kill you.” For the average Ukrainian, these words fully reflect the realities of the brutal war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for many years under false pretenses,” Hrushetskyi is quoted by KIIS. 

Now, Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is set to visit Moscow for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

His visit is expected to coincide with high-level talks in Saudi Arabia, where Ukrainian officials will meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.

“Ukrainians are quite flexible and ready to discuss even painful options for ending the war. At the same time, Ukrainians are ready to continue to defend their ‘red lines’ (which consist in the survival of the Ukrainian nation, preservation of sovereignty and guarantees of security) and are definitely not going to simply lay down their arms and surrender to the mercy of the enemy,” Hrushetskyi wrote.