Half of Ukrainians believe war with Russia will last for long: poll

49 percent of Ukrainians believe that Russia can wage war for "many more years" because of its significant resources, a new poll by Kyiv International Institute of Sociology published on Monday shows.

The poll reflects a change in Ukrainian public opinion regarding Russian military capabilities since February, when the same poll was carried out.

Back then, 22 percent of respondents said that Russia retains a significant reserve of resources and could wage war against Ukraine for many years to come, and 67 percent believed Russia was exhausting its resources and the war could end on terms acceptable to Ukraine in the foreseeable future.

In October, the number of those who believe Ukraine will face a long war because of Russia’s retained capabilities increased to 49 percent, and only 43 percent of Ukrainians said the war will end soon because the Russians do not have enough resources.

However, the shift does not indicate Ukrainians have become more ready to give in to Moscow’s demands.

Only 21 of those who said they believed in Russia’s capability to wage a long war said they would support giving up some Ukrainian territory in exchange for ‘peace’, and 73 percent opposed any territorial compromises.

The survey was conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology between 29 September and 9 October 2023 through computer-assisted telephone interviews.

It included 1,010 respondents aged 18 and older living in all regions of Ukraine, except for the temporarily occupied territories.