The majority of Ukrainians want to start negotiations with Russia, a recent survey showed, which also found that 80 per cent of the Ukrainians polled said they had lost friends or relatives in the war.

The US-based National Democratic Institute (NDI) has asked more than 2,500 Ukrainians 40 questions on a range of topics, the Swedish Samnytt news portal reported. Co-financed by Sweden, the survey was carried out in May but was published just over two months later. The interviews were conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) on commission of the NDI.

In the NDI survey, 80 per cent of those asked said that they had lost friends or relatives in the war. Last May, the same proportion was 44 per cent, while it was 20 per cent in May 2022. Ten per cent of the respondents also reported that they had lost their homes because of the war, and a growing number of people say that their physical and mental health is negatively affected by the war.

The survey also revealed that the willingness to engage in negotiations with Russia is increasing, and

for the first time since 2022, the majority of Ukrainians want peace talks, with 57 per cent agreeing and 38 per cent disagreeing with negotiations.

Ukrainian’s willingness to negotiate was at its lowest in January 2023, after Ukraine achieved military successes on the battlefield, but has gradually risen since then. At that time, only 29 per cent of the Ukrainians wanted to negotiate.

By contrast, the Ukrainian willingness to compromise is not so strong. 77 per cent say ‘no’ to agreeing to Russia retaining the territories it now controls, with only 19 per cent considering such a solution fully or somewhat acceptable.

Slightly more, 35 per cent, can imagine a return to the borders that existed before the invasion in February 2022, with Russia continuing to control Crimea and parts of Donbas. However, a majority (60 per cent) consider this unacceptable. Most respondents, 85 per cent, hope for a solution whereby Russia withdraws completely from Ukraine, leaving both Donbas and Crimea. However, ten per cent reject even such a solution.

The NDI survey was financed by Sweden and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The NDI is a liberal advocacy organization loosely affiliated with the US Democratic Party and European liberal and red-green parties. Among others, it receives funding from the Open Society Foundations and various Western governments.

In this light, it is perhaps not surprising that the NDI poll also asked Ukrainians about their attitudes towards homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals. The study found that the acceptance of these sexual orientations has increased significantly since the outbreak of the war. While in December 2019, only 28 per cent of the respondents thought that LGBTQ people should have the same rights as other Ukrainians, by May this year, the figure has jumped to 68 per cent.