Time for Peace?

Taylor Walters, "For the first time, more than half of Ukrainians want a quick, negotiated end to war with Russia: poll"

For the first time in the 1,000 days of bloodshed since the Russia-Ukraine war began, more than half of Ukrainians want to see a swift, brokered resolution to the conflict — and even support making territorial concessions to reach peace.

Most Ukrainians — 52% — said the country should seek to negotiate an ending to the war as soon as possible, while 38% want to see Ukraine continue fighting until it defeats Russia, according to the latest Gallup survey on the conflict.

This is an appreciable shift from the early days of the war that began in February 2022, when 73% wanted to fight until Ukraine reached a victory. Support for that position slipped to 63% last year, but this is the first time support for negotiated peace eclipsed a majority among Ukrainians.

Remarkably, more than half of Ukrainians who favor negotiated peace even believe Ukraine should be open to making some territorial concessions as part of a deal to end the war.

The Gallup survey also reveals a moving target for what Ukrainians consider “victory” in the war.

In the previous two years, more than 90% believed victory constituted regaining all territory lost since 2014, including Crimea. That’s down more than 10 points in the 2024 survey.

While Gallup collected survey responses in October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hawked his proposed “victory plan,” which Western allies met with mixed reactions — perhaps influencing the views of his constituents who responded.

The plan involves Ukraine formally joining NATO and granting it permission to use Western long-range missiles to strike military targets in Russia.

Biden gave Zelensky the go-ahead to use those missiles over the weekend, and Ukraine fired its first barrage into Russia Tuesday morning. In turn, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he’s lowering the threshold for Russia’s use of its own nuclear weapons.

That sets up quite a conundrum for incoming President-elect Donald Trump, who famously said on the campaign trail that he could end the conflict “in 24 hours” when he retakes the role of commander in chief.

Zelensky, however, appeared eager to work with Trump to end the war in an interview last week, echoing Ukrainians’ desire to use diplomacy to achieve an expeditious end to the years-long conflict.

“It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their citizens,” he said of Trump’s re-election, adding that Ukraine must do everything in its power to end the war next year.

Putin, meanwhile, maintains that he’ll only talk with Ukraine if Kyiv surrenders Ukrainian territory — which so far has been a non-starter for Zelensky.