Nearly half of Ukrainians believe that Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. elections in November could bring peace closer in the Russia-Ukraine war, while about 15% are convinced that it makes peace more distant.
These findings were obtained from a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS). In the survey, respondents were asked whether Trump’s victory would affect the process of establishing peace in Ukraine.
Almost half of the respondents (45%) believe that Trump’s victory would contribute to peace, with 15% convinced that peace would become much closer, and the remaining 30% thinking it would only become slightly closer.
Fourteen percent of participants believe that peace will become more distant, with 5% saying it will move significantly away, and 9% thinking it will only slightly move farther.
40% of respondents believe that the outcome of Trump’s election will not affect the situation or were unsure of their stance. In addition, respondents were asked whether Ukraine could expect a just peace under Trump. Only 7% are sure that peace would be completely fair for Ukraine, while 11% think it would be unjust. The majority of Ukrainians occupy a middle ground, noting that there would likely be a compromise that includes both Ukraine’s demands and concessions to Russia.
Overall, 23% of respondents believe that peace with Trump would mostly be fair to Ukraine, while 31% think it would be unjust. 29% expect a balance of both sides’ demands to be met, and 18% could not express an opinion.
The survey was conducted from December 2 to 17 through telephone interviews. A total of 985 respondents participated, all of whom were adult Ukrainian citizens residing in government-controlled areas. The statistical margin of error for the sample does not exceed 4.1%.
