More than half of Ukrainians believe national elections should be held only after a final peace agreement is signed and the war with Russia has fully ended, according to a new survey.
The poll was conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) between Nov. 26 and Dec. 13.
According to the findings, just 9% of respondents support holding elections before a ceasefire – down from 11% in September. Another 25% favor elections only if hostilities stop and Ukraine receives firm security guarantees, a slight increase from 22% in September.
The largest group of respondents – 57% – insist that elections should take place only after the war is completely over and a peace agreement is concluded.
KIIS Executive Director Anton Hrushetsky said there is currently no public demand among Ukrainians to hold national elections before the end of hostilities. He added that public trust in President Volodymyr Zelensky remains high and that his legitimacy is not being questioned.
“Therefore, calls for elections in Ukraine are perceived critically by society and seen as attempts to weaken the country,” Hrushetsky said.
The survey also found that 72% of Ukrainians would support a peace plan that includes freezing the conflict along the current front line, provided Ukraine receives security guarantees and occupied territories are not formally recognized as part of Russia.
At the same time, 75% of respondents – unchanged from September – oppose any peace plan that would require withdrawing Ukrainian troops from Donbas, limiting the military, or lacking concrete security guarantees.
A recent Kyiv Post analysis outlined the legal and practical hurdles to holding elections during wartime.
How Ukrainians see the end of the war
Only 9% of Ukrainians believe the war could end by early 2026, down from 18% in September. Another 14% expect it to end in the first half of 2026.
In total, just one-quarter of respondents anticipate the war ending in the relatively near future.
Meanwhile, 11% believe the war will end in the second half of 2026, while 32% expect it to continue into 2027 or beyond. One-third of respondents (33%) said they do not know – up from 23% in September.
Despite the prolonged conflict, a majority of Ukrainians – 63% – say they are ready to endure the war for as long as necessary, roughly unchanged from September. Another 1% said they could endure it for about a year.
A shorter timeframe of several months or up to six months was cited by 15% of respondents, down from 21% in September, while the share of those unable to answer increased from 13% to 21%.
The KIIS survey was conducted via telephone interviews using a random sample of mobile phone numbers. A total of 547 respondents aged 18 and over were surveyed in regions of Ukraine under government control.
Ukraine’s constitution prohibits elections during martial law – a provision Kyiv initially avoided invoking after Russia’s 2014 invasion.
Trump’s call for elections in Ukraine
In recent weeks, US President Donald Trump claimed that Ukraine could no longer be considered a democracy because elections had not been held for an extended period.
Asked by Politico whether it was time for Ukraine to hold an election, Trump replied: “Yeah, I think so. It’s been a long time… Yeah, I think it’s time. I think it’s an important time to hold an election.”
He alleged that Ukrainian authorities were “using war not to hold an election” and said that “the Ukrainian people… should have that choice.”
Trump added that the outcome of a vote was uncertain, saying, “And maybe Zelensky would win. I don’t know who would win, but they haven’t had an election in a long time.”
“You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore,” he said.
Responding to the issue on Sunday, Zelensky said he would not speculate on whether such signals were coming from the US or from Russia, emphasizing that he is not clinging to power.
“I am not holding on to my seat. I believe that Ukraine should be ready for any development of events,” Zelensky said.
He added that he had asked Ukraine’s international partners to assist with security arrangements if elections were to take place, and said lawmakers should prepare possible mechanisms for holding a vote should conditions allow.