KYIV: A majority of Ukrainians oppose ceding any land captured by Russia in exchange for peace, even as their army is on the back foot against advancing Russian forces, a survey said on Tuesday.

The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology carried out the survey a month before the election of Donald Trump, whose victory rekindled fears Washington may force Ukraine into giving up land.

“As of the beginning of October 2024, despite all the difficult circumstances, the majority of Ukrainians — 58pc — opposed any territorial concessions,” the survey said.

Kyiv, outgunned and outmanned by Moscow, has struggled to hold back steady advances from Russian forces in the eastern Donetsk region for weeks.

On the diplomatic front, it has contended with war fatigue from some Western allies, including from its main backer the United States, where the presidential elections revived debates over aid to Ukraine.

President-elect Trump has claimed he would end the fighting within 24 hours, without giving details how, while his running mate JD Vance has advocated freezing combat along current lines.

But the military and diplomatic setbacks had little effect on the polls, which showed that “between May and the beginning of October 2024, the situation actually did not change — currently 32pc are ready for territorial concessions.”

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2024