70% of Ukrainians do not believe the talks will lead to a lasting peace

70% of Ukrainians do not believe that the current talks will lead to a lasting peace.

This was reported by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

According to the survey, conducted from February 12 to 24, 2026 and involving more than 2,000 respondents, only 25% of Ukrainians believe the negotiating process will succeed, while 5% were undecided. KIIS noted that compared with mid-January 2026, Ukrainians’ views on this issue have not changed.

“Ukrainians continue to view the current peace talks critically, and most have no optimistic expectations about them. The practical realities in Ukraine … leave little reason for Ukrainians to believe Russians want to end the war. In particular, Ukrainians understand that if Russians are ready for this at all, it would be only on terms that would amount to Ukraine’s de facto capitulation,” said KIIS Executive Director Anton Hrushetskyi.

He added that at the same time “Ukrainians remain open to difficult compromises” and are “ready to discuss them,” but “not at the price of capitulation.”

A previous KIIS poll conducted from January 9 to 14, 2026 found that 69% of Ukrainians did not believe peace negotiations would be successful, while 26% believed the opposite.

On March 2, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the fourth round of three-way talks on settling the conflict could take place between March 5 and 8. Earlier, Bloomberg wrote that the next round could take place on March 4–5. And on February 24, U.S. President’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said a new meeting of U.S., Ukrainian, and Russian representatives could take place within the next 10 days. In late February, U.S. President Donald Trumpsaid the United States was close to reaching an agreement on settling the conflict.

The previous round of the three-way talks took place on February 17–18.