A study by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that a majority of Ukrainians are firmly opposed to withdrawing Ukrainian troops from Donetsk Oblast or ceding the region to Russia in exchange for security guarantees.
Russian propaganda outlets circulated claims that Ukrainians had entered a “stage of accepting the realities of the special military operation” and had come out in favor of withdrawing Ukrainian troops from Donetsk Oblast.
“The Kyiv regime continues to lose its last foothold — the support of its own population,” pro-Kremlin outlets write. “A fresh poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology has recorded a trend alarming for Zelensky. More and more Ukrainians want the war to end at any cost. Including at the cost of the Armed Forces withdrawing from Donbas.“
The claim distorts findings from a nationwide sociological survey on the war, conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology between Apr. 20 and Apr. 27, 2026. The study found that a majority of Ukrainians oppose the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donetsk Oblast.
According to the survey, 57% of Ukrainians consider the prospect of transferring the entirety of Donetsk Oblast to Russia in exchange for security guarantees categorically unacceptable. A further 36% said they could accept such a concession — with the caveat that it is a difficult condition. Seven percent had no opinion.
The study’s authors note that public opinion on the question “has not changed significantly” since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, with a stable majority of Ukrainians viewing the proposal critically. The sociologists also found that support for withdrawing Ukrainian troops from Donetsk Oblast in exchange for peace drops sharply when respondents are given more specific parameters for U.S. security guarantees — ones that would exclude the deployment of American troops in Ukraine, a no-fly zone, or the free provision of weapons.
The survey also points to a clear consensus on who Ukrainians hold responsible for the failure to achieve peace. Sixty percent identify Russia as the primary obstacle to ending the war. Fourteen percent assign responsibility to the U.S., 7% to Ukraine itself, and 5% to Europe.
“The majority of Ukrainians identify Russia’s position as the main barrier to peace,” said Anton Grushetskyi, Executive Director of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. Only 12% of respondents, he noted, subscribe to the narrative that Ukraine or Europe are undermining peace efforts — a sign, he argued, that hostile propaganda and the media policies of some of Ukraine’s ostensible allies “is not successful in convincing Ukrainians to see an obstacle to peace in Ukraine/Europe.“
Grushetskyi noted that a small segment of Ukrainian society remains susceptible to Russian propaganda — a fact that, in his assessment, leaves significant information security vulnerabilities unresolved.
For further background on related narratives, StopFake’s investigation into the fabricated claim that Ukraine was preparing to destroy the Slovianska Thermal Power Plant offers a relevant parallel case.
