According to a poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) at the request of the Kyiv Independent, 51.2% of Ukrainians believe that Western countries fear that Russia will lose the all-out war against Ukraine and hold off military aid to Kyiv as a result.
The survey, commissioned by the Kyiv Independent, was conducted between Feb. 5 and March 10. Two thousand twenty-nine people took part, and the margin of error stands at 2.4%.
According to the poll, 17% of respondents completely agreed with this statement, while 34.2% said they would rather agree. Another 21.3% said they would rather disagreed with the statement.
The number of those who strongly disagreed stands at 17.7%, the survey showed.
The poll was conducted when U.S. President Donald Trump's administration took a number of steps widely seen as friendly toward Russia.
The U.S. froze intelligence sharing and military aid to Ukraine soon after a heated argument broke out between President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House on Feb. 28. U.S. officials have suggested the pause is "temporary," without indicating when aid will resume.
Given Trump's rhetoric and policy shift, European officials are considering stepping up support for Kyiv.
In 2024, when Russia maintained an initiative on the battlefield, taking advantage of delays in defense aid to Ukraine from Western allies, primarily the U.S., Zelensky said that Western countries "are afraid of Russia losing the war" and would like Kyiv "to win in such a way that Russia does not lose."
Alisa Yurchenko
