U.S. Voters Don’t Want Ukraine to Cede Territory to Russia

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has captured nearly all of the eastern Donbas region, but American voters don’t believe Ukraine should be willing to give up territory in a negotiated peace with Russia.

A new national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports and Human Events finds that just 19% of Likely U.S. voters believe that, in negotiating for an end to the war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should be willing to give up Ukrainian territory to Russia. Sixty-three percent (63%) think Ukraine should keep fighting until Russia completely ends its invasion. Another 18% are not sure. In April, 72% believed Ukraine should keep fighting until Russia completely ends its invasion. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Earlier this month, Russia captured the key city of Lysychansk, bringing Russia closer to achieving its goal of taking over the Donbas region. Sixty-six percent (66%) of U.S. voters think it’s likely that Russia will take over the entire Donbas region, including 29% who believe it is Very Likely. Only 18% don’t think it’s likely Russia will capture all of Donbas. Another 16% are not sure.

Sixty-seven percent (67%) have a favorable impression of Zelenskyy, including 39% whose view of the Ukrainian president is Very Favorable. In April, 79% viewed Zelenskyy favorably. Twenty-three percent (23%) now view Zelenskyy unfavorably, up from 15% in April.

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The survey of 1,000 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on July 6-7, 2022 by Rasmussen Reports and Human Events. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Seventy-eight percent (78%) of voters have closely followed recent news reports about the war in Ukraine, including 37% who’ve followed the news Very Closely. More Democrats (42%) than Republicans or voters not affiliated with either major party (both 35%) have Very Closely followed news about the Ukraine war.

While 50% of Democrats have a Very Favorable view of Zelenskyy, only 32% of Republicans and 35% of unaffiliated voters share that opinion. 

More Democrats (70%) than Republicans (60%) or unaffiliated voters (59%) believe Ukraine should keep fighting until Russia completely ends its invasion.

Forty-seven percent (47%) of whites, but only 23% of Black voters and 25% of other minorities, have a Very Favorable impression of Zelensky. Black voters are less likely than whites or other minorities to think it’s likely that Russia will take over the entire Donbas region.

More men (42%) than women voters (33%) say they’ve Very Closely followed recent news about the war in Ukraine. Men are also more likely than women voters to believe Zelenskyy should be willing to give up Ukrainian territory to Russia in negotiating for an end to the war.

Voters 65% and older have the highest opinion of Zelenskyy and are most likely to say Ukraine should keep fighting until Russia completely ends its invasion.

A majority of voters with incomes over $100,000 a year have a Very Favorable opinion of Zelenskyy. Upper-income voters are more likely to say Ukraine should keep fighting until Russia completely ends its invasion.

President Joe Biden’s strongest supporters have the highest opinion of Ukraine’s president. Among voters who Strongly Approve of Biden’s job performance as president, 74% have a Very Favorable impression of Zelenskyy. By contrast, among those who Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s performance, only 25% have a Very Favorable opinion of Zelenskyy.

Many voters still believe cheating affected the 2020 presidential election, and a majority fear the upcoming midterm elections could be tainted by cheating.

By an overwhelming margin, voters don’t want President Biden to seek reelection, and they’re not excited about two possible alternatives in 2024, either.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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