Four in five respondents to a Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) poll favored continuing Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries under a hypothetical U.S. aid restriction; the scenario assumed Russia would make no commitment to stop attacks on Ukraine.
The poll asked whether Ukraine should end refinery attacks if Washington demanded a stop and threatened to curb assistance, including intelligence and Starlink services. It paired that hypothetical with no Russian commitment to stop attacks on Ukrainian energy and civilian sites; it does not establish that Washington made such a demand.
Among respondents, 80% favored continuing strikes, 11% supported stopping them and 8% were undecided. KIIS said results were rounded to whole percentages, so totals can differ from 100%.
KIIS conducted telephone interviews with 828 adult Ukrainian citizens from Oct. 16-25 in government-controlled areas. The sample excluded people in territories outside government control and citizens who left Ukraine after Feb. 24, 2022.
Under normal conditions, KIIS put the margin of error at up to 4.4 percentage points for results near 50%, accounting for a design effect of 1.3. It warned wartime conditions could introduce additional systematic deviation.
A separate winter scenario described Russia trying to leave people without electricity, heat and sewage; 76% favored continued armed resistance. KIIS also found 63% were prepared to endure the war “as long as necessary.” Another 21% said several months to half a year, 5% about a year and 11% were undecided.
KIIS Executive Director Anton Grushetskyi said the findings indicated Ukrainians had the resolve to continue resisting until they considered the war’s outcome acceptable. Russian refineries are a key source of revenue for Moscow’s federal budget and help fund the war, the Kyiv Independent has reported.
The poll’s fieldwork ended Oct. 25, before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke at an Oct. 27 briefing. The Kyiv Independent and LB.ua reported that Zelenskyy said Ukraine would leave Russian refineries alone for “at least 72 hours” after U.S. President Donald Trump’s ceasefire announcement; the accounts gave no precise start or end time. EconoTimes previously reported on the pause.
