KIIS: The majority of Ukrainians are in favor of the liberation of Crimea by military means

64% of respondents polled by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) believe that Ukraine should liberate the entire territory, including Crimea, even if there is a risk of a decrease in support from the West and a longer war.

This is stated in the results of the All-Ukrainian KIIS survey, conducted from February 22 to March 6.

According to the Instituteʼs latest data, the absolute majority of Ukrainians — 87% — oppose any territorial concessions; 9% are ready for them. However, this question was asked in general about "territorial concessions", without specifying the territories and possible "compromise" proposals.

Respondents were offered two scenarios:

• One of them included helping the West to liberate and reliably protect all territories, including Donbas, but excluding Crimea.
• The second scenario involved attempts to liberate Crimea militarily, but with the understanding that the West could reduce aid and the war could drag on.

"As you can see, in this approach, the space for finding "compromises" really expands, and more people are ready to accept this format of actions. However, at the same time, the majority of respondents — 64% — believe that Ukraine should try to liberate the entire territory, including Crimea, even if there is a risk of a decrease in support from the West and a risk of a longer war," KIIS noted.

The institute added that 24% of respondents are more inclined to the option that in exchange for the liberation and protection of all territories with Donbas (but without Crimea), Ukraine can refrain from military actions on the peninsula.

• The survey was conducted by the method of telephone interviews, based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers. 2 007 respondents were surveyed — citizens of Ukraine aged 18 and older, who at the time of the survey lived on the territory of Ukraine within the limits controlled by the authorities of Ukraine until February 24, 2022.