Ukrainians say it's time for peace negotiations with Russia

There is increasing talk of peace negotiations with Russia in Ukraine. So far, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has always rejected any possible agreements with Russia's current leadership and even issued a decree ruling out talks with President Vladimir Putin. But the situation could be changing. Zelenskyy has even said that Russian representatives should attend the second "peace summit" that Ukraine plans to hold in November.

According to a survey conducted by the Razumkov Center, a Ukrainian think tank, on behalf of the Ukrainian online newspaper Dzerkalo Tyzhnia (zn.ua), 44% of Ukrainians in areas behind the frontline believe that it is time to start official talks between Kyiv and Moscow; 35% believe that there is no reason to start peace talks and 21% are undecided.

The findings also show that Ukrainians are categorically opposed to Ukraine accepting and fulfilling Putin's recently set conditions to end the war. Almost 83% of respondents reject the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions not controlled by Russia, and around 84% are against ceding these territories to Russia. In addition, 77% are against lifting all Western sanctions against Russia.

As far as a neutral, non-aligned and nuclear-free status for Ukraine is concerned, the attitude of the population in the areas controlled by Kyiv is less clear: 58% of respondents are against such a status, while 22% are in favor.

No shame in refusing to serve in the army

When asked what the minimum condition for concluding a peace treaty with Russia should be, over 51% said that Ukraine must be liberated from the Russian occupation forces and within its 1991 borders. Although the majority of Ukrainians would like to see a return to these borders, almost one in two Ukrainians (46%) believe that there is no shame in refusing to be conscripted. Only 29% hold the opposite opinion, while 25% are undecided.

"This shows the frustration of the population. Under war conditions, people don't know what prospects they and the country have. This is precisely what these paradoxical responses from society are signaling," said Oleh Saakyan, a political scientist and co-founder of the National Platform for Resilience and Social Cohesion.

He told DW that the great willingness for peace negotiations showed that previous efforts to mobilize the population and create unity were exhausted as they had been geared towards a short war.

"We have ended up in a long war, and neither the authorities nor the elites have offered the people a vision of how they should live in Ukraine under conditions of permanent war or the threat of war."

Tackling corruption has been put on the back burner

Saakyan said that Ukrainians were beginning to be worried by everything that has been postponed "until after the war," such as the fight against corruption and nepotism, as well as making the administration more efficient.

He said people had understood that the war would continue for a long time. "Mobilization, abuse of power, energy and economic issues, fortifications on the front and defense — all of this is extremely topical for society because the war continues and these problems remain unresolved. At the same time, society wants a victory, but it is unclear how this can be achieved." 

Ihor Reiterovich from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv pointed out to DW that the Ukrainian president had practically stopped mentioning the 1991 borders as a prerequisite for peace with Russia over the past few months. But he added that he had not spoken of new borders either, which was confusing to Ukrainian society. 

"The result is that, on the one hand, the majority wants all the territories back, and on the other hand, half says that conscientious objection is not a problem. The answers are ambivalent. That's why we have to deal with this and think about a solution that Ukrainian society can accept and live with," he said.

Government should open dialogue with society

Reiterovich and other experts suggest that the government should open an open dialogue with society about the future to gain the support of Ukrainians for its endeavors. This would allow a vision to be developed as to how to continue living in war conditions. They recommend involving as many people as possible in the decision-making process.

However, they also realize that ambivalent reactions to complex problems are normal in societies in a state of complete uncertainty. "The public mood must always be monitored and dynamics recognized so that we can carefully prepare for challenges," explained Mykhaylo Mishchenko from the Razumkov Center.

The three experts interviewed by DW said that they believed surveys such as the one mentioned above were necessary for the Ukrainian government to formulate clear options for the future and prepare its second "peace summit" in accordance with its vision. Moreover, the surveys would give the government strong arguments for how to negotiate a peace plan.

This article was originally published in Ukrainian.