40% of Ukrainians see military operation in Kursk region as boosting Kyiv’s negotiating power for peace – survey

40% of Ukrainian citizens believe that the offensive operation of Ukraine's armed forces in the Kursk region has increased Kyiv's chances of achieving what it wants during the peace talks.

The results of the survey "Results of 2024: Waiting for a Just Peace?", presented during a press conference at Ukrinform, evidenced this.

"40% said that it [the offensive operation – ed.] has increased Ukraine's chances of getting what it wants during the talks; 24% said that it has weakened it, and another 35% said that it is difficult for them to answer.

That is, the relative majority of those who believe that it has increased Ukraine's chances," said Oleksii Haran, scientific advisor to the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, professor of political science at the National University of «Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.»

At the same time, respondents who have relatives living in temporarily occupied territories were more skeptical in their assessment of the consequences for the negotiations of the offensive operation of Ukraine's armed forces in the Kursk region.

Also, according to the survey, 60% of respondents believe that Ukraine's accession to NATO can make it impossible for Russia to carry out another armed aggression.

Also, 39% mentioned restoring the state's nuclear status as a way to protect itself.

According to respondents, the least effective of the proposed strategies is the creation of a demilitarized zone on the contact line, regardless of whose troops will be involved in its control.

For reference:

The all-Ukrainian survey was conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the sociological service of the Razumkov Center from November 29 to December 14, 2024.

1,518 respondents aged 18 and over who live in territories controlled by the Ukrainian government and where there are no hostilities were surveyed face-to-face. The theoretical sampling error does not exceed 2.6%.

It is worth mentioning that the majority of Ukrainian citizens are in favor of reacquiring nuclear weapons, which the country gave up 30 years ago according to the Budapest Memorandum. Nevertheless, there is concern about potentially losing support from Western nations.

The sociologists of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology noted that in the mid–1994, half of Ukrainians held the belief that Ukraine should be a non-nuclear state, while 30% supported the possession of nuclear weapons. The remaining 20% had no clear stance.

Around 70% of Ukrainian citizens are in favor of joining NATO, taking into account the precedent set by Germany, where the west joined the Alliance 40 years before the east.

At the same time, the New Europe Center emphasizes that the Western model for Ukraine is different because the invitation to NATO should immediately extend to all internationally recognized borders of Ukraine.

It should be noted that 88% of Ukrainians believe in Ukraine's victory in the war against the Russian Federation. Of these, 71% believe Ukraine should regain all lost territories.