66% of Ukrainians believe that Russia’s goal is to destroy Ukraine and Ukrainians - KIIS poll
66% of Ukrainians believe that Russia is seeking to destroy Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
This is according to a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), Censor.NET reports.
According to the survey, 28% of respondents believe that Russia seeks the physical destruction of Ukrainians, and another 38% are convinced that Russia's goal is to destroy Ukrainian statehood and nation by seizing most of the territory.
In addition, 14% of respondents believe that Russia seeks to establish a puppet government after capturing most of Ukraine's territory, and 7% believe that Russia will limit itself to capturing Donbas, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
Only 4% of respondents believe that Russia seeks to retain the already occupied territories, while 3% chose the option of ‘denazification’ and demilitarisation. 7% of respondents were undecided.
"Our polls show that the greater the threat Ukrainians feel, the more they are inclined to continue resistance and reject unacceptable demands. Accordingly, the spread of the narrative and the belief that Russia has ‘limited’ its goals and/or is ready for peace on ‘compromise’ terms may undermine the internal readiness to continue the struggle," the researchers noted.
KIIS Executive Director Anton Hrushetskyi stressed that despite the fatigue from the war, the majority of Ukrainians are categorically against peace ‘on any terms’. According to him, this is due to a sense of existential threat.
"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 are the survival of the Ukrainian nation, preservation of sovereignty and security guarantees) and are definitely not going to simply lay down their arms and surrender to the enemy," he added.
As noted, the survey was conducted from 14 February to 4 March 2025 by telephone interviews (CATI). The study involved 1,029 respondents living in the government-controlled territory of Ukraine. The statistical error does not exceed 4.1% for figures close to 50%.
