Majority of Ukrainians Say Elections Should Wait Until War Ends, Poll Shows

December 16 ------ More than half of Ukrainians believe national elections should be held only after a final peace agreement is signed and the war with Russia has fully ended, according to a new survey.

The poll was conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) between Nov. 26 and Dec. 13. According to the findings, just 9% of respondents support holding elections before a ceasefire – down from 11% in September. Another 25% favor elections only if hostilities stop and Ukraine receives firm security guarantees, a slight increase from 22% in September. The largest group of respondents – 57% – insist that elections should take place only after the war is completely over and a peace agreement is concluded.

KIIS Executive Director Anton Hrushetsky said there is currently no public demand among Ukrainians to hold national elections before the end of hostilities. He added that public trust in President Volodymyr Zelensky remains high and that his legitimacy is not being questioned. “Therefore, calls for elections in Ukraine are perceived critically by society and seen as attempts to weaken the country,” Hrushetsky said.

The survey also found that 72% of Ukrainians would support a peace plan that includes freezing the conflict along the current front line, provided Ukraine receives security guarantees and occupied territories are not formally recognized as part of Russia. At the same time, 75% of respondents – unchanged from September – oppose any peace plan that would require withdrawing Ukrainian troops from Donbas, limiting the military, or lacking concrete security guarantees.

How Ukrainians see the end of the war

Only 9% of Ukrainians believe the war could end by early 2026, down from 18% in September. Another 14% expect it to end in the first half of 2026. In total, just one-quarter of respondents anticipate the war ending in the relatively near future.

Meanwhile, 11% believe the war will end in the second half of 2026, while 32% expect it to continue into 2027 or beyond. One-third of respondents (33%) said they do not know – up from 23% in September. Despite the prolonged conflict, a majority of Ukrainians – 63% – say they are ready to endure the war for as long as necessary, roughly unchanged from September. Another 1% said they could endure it for about a year. A shorter timeframe of several months or up to six months was cited by 15% of respondents, down from 21% in September, while the share of those unable to answer increased from 13% to 21%.

The KIIS survey was conducted via telephone interviews using a random sample of mobile phone numbers. A total of 547 respondents aged 18 and over were surveyed in regions of Ukraine under government control. Ukraine’s constitution prohibits elections during martial law – a provision Kyiv initially avoided invoking after Russia’s 2014 invasion.

Source: kyivpost.com