Ukrainians are growing more pessimistic about the prospects for peace, survey says

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions The Best Music of 2025 Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions The Best Music of 2025 About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Ukrainians are growing more pessimistic about the prospects for peace, survey says As the Iran war delays peace talks for Ukraine -- and global supplies of air defense missiles -- there are signs that fewer Ukrainians are willing to endure Russia's war for as long as necessary. World Ukrainians are growing more pessimistic about the prospects for peace, survey says March 23, 20264:43 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition By Hanna Palamarenko Ukrainians are growing more pessimistic about the prospects for peace, survey says Listen &middot; 2:22 2:22 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5754745/nx-s1-9698861" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript As the Iran war delays peace talks for Ukraine &mdash; and global supplies of air defense missiles &mdash; there are signs that fewer Ukrainians are willing to endure Russia's war for as long as necessary. Sponsor Message A MARTÍNEZ, HOST: Ukrainians are increasingly weary of war. A survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology indicates that Ukraine's citizens are pessimistic about the prospects for peace. NPR's Hanna Palamarenko in Kyiv has more.

+ HANNA PALAMARENKO, BYLINE: According to the survey, only 54% of Ukrainians remain committed to enduring the ongoing war. Svitlana Hetmanchuk (ph), a retiree, is on a walk through Kyiv central park with her husband. SVITLANA HETMANCHUK: Yeah. (Speaking Ukrainian). PALAMARENKO: "I am ready to endure the war for as long as it takes," she says. However, Hetmanchuk is driven not by hope and optimism, but by the lack of any other choice. HETMANCHUK: (Speaking Ukrainian). PALAMARENKO: "We must either endure or be slaves," she adds. Anton Grushetskyi, the executive director of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, explains that such resilience is rooted in the existential nature of the war. The declining figures in the survey indicate fatigue and growing concerns. ANTON GRUSHETSKYI: People see, like, much more complex geopolitical situation and how it affects Ukraine. PALAMARENKO: As a result, Ukrainians became more skeptical about security guarantees from the partners. OLEKSANDR: (Speaking Ukrainian). PALAMARENKO: "Right now, the only security guarantee for Ukrainians is the Ukrainians themselves," says Oleksandr. He is an active-duty soldier. He asked to withhold his last name for security reasons. OLEKSANDR: (Speaking Ukrainian). PALAMARENKO: In his view, any concessions come at the cost of civilian and military lives. So there is no single right solution. Even despite the recent resumption of negotiations between the Ukrainian and American delegations, Ukrainians, including Grushetskyi, do not expect any progress. GRUSHETSKYI: I'm a sociologist and a citizen, not expecting some breakthroughs from the negotiations, especially with Iran war, because if now sanctions against Russia is lifting, Russia has even less reasons to stop the war. PALAMARENKO: The research from previous years, however, show that such increase of pessimism may be temporary and can indicate a period of adjustment for society to the new realities. Hanna Palamarenko, NPR News, Kyiv. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor MessageBecome an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1167:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(323)},323:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(84)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1140),c(116),c(94),c(52),c(493),c(239),c(102),c(104),c(1141),c(143),c(1142),c(238),c(48),c(1143)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1167,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();