Why many Ukrainians reject Trump’s peace plan with Russia

Why many Ukrainians reject Trump’s peace plan with Russia

In Kyiv, residents like Nataliia Melnychenko are living through another winter of night-time air-raid sirens and drone attacks. When a Russian drone hit her apartment block at 2.30 a.m., she stayed awake till morning watching emergency crews at work. She says every time a new peace initiative is floated, it seems to be followed by fresh strikes — and now, on top of Russian pressure, she feels “pressure from our allies” as well. The mood on the streets is weary but stubborn: people want the war to end, but not at any price, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Why Trump’s first plan landed badly in Ukraine

The immediate trigger for the public anger is the first version of the Trump administration’s 28-point peace proposal. Ukrainians who have followed the details saw it as a document that largely reflected Moscow’s demands. It envisaged Ukraine giving up fortified territory that Russia has not captured in battle, accepting limits on the size of its armed forces and allowing Russian institutions such as the Russian Orthodox Church, Russian-language schools and television channels to operate again inside Ukraine. For many Ukrainians, that looked less like a compromise and more like a roadmap for renewed influence and future interventions.

‘We’re not just fighting for land’

On central Kyiv’s avenues, lined with flags and photographs of fallen soldiers, people say those terms ignore the cost already paid. Herman Hiso, who had to close his restaurant in Kharkiv because of the invasion, describes territorial concessions as an invitation to future aggression: let Russia keep what it has taken now, he argues, and other authoritarian leaders will conclude that force works. A retired schoolteacher, Vadym Zolotarov, says the country is no longer only defending borders. In his view, Ukraine is fighting for its place in the international system and the basic principle that a neighbour cannot redraw frontiers by force.

Polls show little appetite for surrender

Surveys in 2025 suggest public opinion remains broadly against giving up land in exchange for peace, even though support for negotiations has grown compared to the early months of the war. A recent poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found a narrow majority opposed to territorial concessions, even if that means continued fighting. Many Ukrainians now accept that a diplomatic track will eventually be needed, but they want any agreement to be based on Russian withdrawal, not Ukrainian retreat.

A tough winter and mixed views on compromise

President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned citizens to expect a difficult winter of renewed missile and drone attacks and possible dips in foreign support. In Kyiv and other cities, rolling blackouts and damaged infrastructure are already a reality. That pressure is producing some nuanced views. A younger professional like 29-year-old marketing specialist Oleksandr Holovkov says he finds the idea of giving up territory deeply unfair, given how much sacrifice the war has demanded. At the same time, he admits that Ukraine’s smaller population and stretched army make the power balance hard to ignore, and says he would reluctantly accept a “bad peace” if it truly stopped the war.

Front-line scepticism about a ‘shameful’ deal

On the front lines, commanders remain wary of any agreement that appears to reward Moscow. Officers like drone-company captain Serhiy Ihnatukha say the only realistic room for compromise might be over areas Russia has held since 2014, but they describe the broader plan being discussed as more humiliating than the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. For them, a settlement that locks in Russian gains, caps Ukraine’s forces and keeps NATO at arm’s length would send a signal to other authoritarian regimes that determined military campaigns eventually pay off.

Looking beyond Washington for support

The debate in Ukraine is not only about Russia and the Trump White House. Many soldiers and civilians now talk about Europe as the second vital pillar of their security. Officers such as Oleksiy Pasternak argue that European states have little choice but to keep backing Ukraine, otherwise they risk seeing Russian pressure move westwards towards countries like Poland. Even Kyiv pensioners who say they could live with the formal loss of cities occupied since 2014, such as Luhansk, remain sceptical that any paper agreement can restrain the Kremlin. After years of failed ceasefires and broken accords, they see new headlines about peace plans as “noise” rather than turning points.

A war that has reshaped expectations of peace

The picture that emerges from Kyiv’s streets and trenches is of a society tired of war but deeply suspicious of quick fixes. Ukrainians understand the human and economic cost of continued fighting, yet many feel that accepting a settlement on Russia’s terms would only postpone the next round of violence. As Washington revises its peace plan and Moscow keeps up its bombardment, Ukrainians are trying to hold two ideas at once: the need for a political end to the war, and the conviction that peace which rewards invasion is no peace at all.