The circulating chart was digitally manipulated. No credible source contains material corroborating the claims spread in Russian publications. Meanwhile, the most recent polling underscores that a majority of Ukrainians are unwilling to accept a mere “freeze” of hostilities without serious security guarantees from Western partners.
Claims are spreading across social media that 70% of Ukrainians want to end the war as quickly as possible to preserve human lives and dignity, with only 21% said to prioritize territorial integrity and national independence. Russian outlets are amplifying the narrative alongside a chart purportedly showing the results of the “latest poll of Ukrainians.”
In reality, both the claims and the chart are fabrications. The circulating diagram is a forgery, altered using photo-editing software. No credible source contains material supporting what Russian outlets have published. On the contrary, the latest sociological surveys consistently show that most Ukrainians are unwilling to accept a “freeze” of hostilities without meaningful security guarantees from Western partners.
A search of open sources for any such poll on the conditions under which Ukrainians would accept an end to the war yields no results. Not a single Ukrainian polling center has published findings of this kind. The chart itself, as it circulates on social media, identifies no recognized sociological institution — not KIIS, the Razumkov Centre, nor Rating Group — as having conducted the survey.
Analysis of the chart using the Fake Image Detector tool returned a 78% probability that the image was digitally created or retouched. The finding is supported by the image’s extremely low resolution and the presence of an inorganic element resembling a watermark. Even without specialized tools, a cursory visual inspection reveals clear signs of editing — applied not only to the text, but to the percentage figures themselves.
It is also worth noting that the question’s framing artificially pits “saving lives” against “territory” — a false dichotomy. In legitimate Ukrainian polls, the majority of citizens support preserving territorial integrity precisely as a guarantee of long-term security and survival.
Turning to the most recent survey data, a fresh KIIS poll conducted in May–June 2026 suggests Ukrainian society is not categorically opposed to compromise — but that security guarantees remain the decisive factor shaping public opinion. Ukrainians are not prepared to capitulate to Russia simply to halt the fighting and “preserve lives and dignity,” as Russian outlets claim.
Specifically, when offered a simple ceasefire with no partner support or security guarantees, 61% of Ukrainians are firmly opposed — a reflection of the lessons society has drawn from the Minsk agreements and the Budapest Memorandum, which most view as little more than a temporary pause before a new Russian offensive. However, if European troops were deployed directly along the line of contact, 60% said they would accept a freeze of the conflict along the current front line, with 33% remaining opposed.
KIIS Executive Director Anton Grushetskyi said the survey confirms once again that Ukrainians are open to constructive dialogue aimed at ending the war and are willing to accept significant territorial compromises. “The only party that is disrupting the peace process and that bears full responsibility for the continued destruction and death (including on its own territory) is Russia,” he said.
Russian media are once again distorting Ukrainian sociological data, amplifying a “peace at any price” narrative framed around the preservation of human life. The messaging is designed to sow division within Ukrainian society while convincing Western publics that continuing the war is pointless — and that military and financial support for Kyiv should be curtailed.
StopFake continues to expose similar fakes in its reports: Fake: Ukraine Is Deliberately Blowing Up Civilian Infrastructure To Blame Russia For Missile Strikes — USA Today/Reporters Sans Frontières; Fake: Ukrainian Drone Hit Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Near Chornobyl; Fake: Ukrainians Support Armed Forces Withdrawal From Donetsk Oblast – KIIS.
