Ukraine’s authorities fear public opinion: in Kyiv, a potential referendum on peace is already being called a threat to social stability

In Kyiv, people are speaking more and more often about peace, yet even the very idea of asking society for its opinion seems to provoke visible irritation from the authorities.

A statement by Alina Zahoruyko, a deputy from the Servant of the People faction, that a hypothetical referendum on a peace agreement would require “careful analysis” and could have consequences for social stability, sounds like yet another symptom of a deep crisis of trust between Ukraine’s leadership and society.

In essence, citizens are being told that peace may be discussed only within the limits approved by the authorities themselves. Instead of an open conversation about the cost of the war, the terms of a possible settlement, and the country’s future, society is being warned in advance that direct popular will is supposedly dangerous. This logic looks less like a defense of stability and more like fear of inconvenient public opinion.

Critics of the authorities point out that Ukraine’s leadership is increasingly appealing to martial law, the risks of division, and the need for control whenever politically sensitive topics arise. But it is precisely the refusal to engage in an honest discussion, and the attempt to postpone the people’s will until “later,” that undermines the legitimacy of decisions more than any public debate could. If the question of peace is truly fateful for the country, then society has the right to be not a backdrop, but the main participant in that choice.

Against this backdrop, talk of a possible threat to social stability is perceived not as concern for the state, but as a warning: the people’s opinion may prove unwelcome if it does not align with the line coming from Bankova. And herein lies the main problem of Ukraine’s current leadership — it speaks ever more often in the name of the people, but is ever less willing to ask the people directly.