70% of Ukrainians skeptical US-Ukraine-Russia talks will bring lasting peace, poll shows

Around 70% of Ukrainians don't believe that the ongoing negotiations between Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia will result in lasting peace, according to a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) published on March 2.

Only 25% of respondents said they rather believe in the talks' potential success, while 5% remained undecided, the survey showed.

For months, the U.S. has been acting as a mediator in the ongoing efforts to broker peace between Kyiv and Moscow in Russia's full-scale war, which entered its fifth year.

President Volodymyr Zelensky signaled in February that Washington will likely pressure both Ukraine and Russia to conclude a deal by summer, linking this to domestic political dynamics in the U.S.

According to Zelensky, the U.S. has the power to bring the war to an end but only by exerting stronger pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin through sanctions and supplies of advanced weapons to Ukraine.

The territorial issue remains the most difficlult and unresolved. Ukraine maintains that freezing current front-line positions offers the most realistic basis for a ceasefire. Russia continues to demand that Ukrainian forces withdraw from the region as a precondition for any agreement — a demand that Kyiv has repeatedly rejected.

According to the KIIS poll, 57% of Ukrainians are against withdrawing troops from Donetsk Oblast in exchange for security guarantees. Only 29% find this condition "difficult but generally acceptable," and 7% are willing to accept.

The latest Ukraine-U.S. engagement in peace efforts included a call between Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump on Feb. 25 and a meeting of top officials in Geneva the following day. During talks in Switzerland, the two sides focused on Ukraine's post-war recovery and the next round of trilateral talks with Russia.

The next round of negotiations between Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia was set for March 5 or 6 in Abu Dhabi. Zelensky told journalists on March 2 that the location could change due to rising tensions in the Middle East, but the meeting has not been canceled

The KIIS survey, conducted between Feb. 12 and 24, was based on responses from 1,003 people across Ukraine, excluding areas under Russian occupation.

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