As international pressure intensifies for Ukraine to make territorial concessions to end the war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has raised the possibility of a national referendum, arguing that any decision to give up land should rest with the Ukrainian people.
The proposal comes as parts of eastern Ukraine, including the strategic city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, face growing military threats. For nearly four years, Kramatorsk has served as a logistical hub and symbolic stronghold against advancing Russian forces. Under a peace framework reportedly favoured by U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukraine would be required to withdraw its troops from the city and remaining areas of Donetsk it controls, converting them into a special economic zone.
Many Ukrainians view such ideas as unacceptable. Maksym Lysenko, an entrepreneur from the heavily damaged city of Pokrovsk who relocated his business to Kramatorsk, called the proposal “absurd,” questioning how territory defended at such a high human cost could simply be surrendered.
Zelenskyy’s mention of a referendum last week was widely interpreted as a response to mounting U.S. pressure rather than a genuine move toward holding a vote. Trump has publicly criticized the Ukrainian leader, accusing him of clinging to power and questioning Ukraine’s democratic credentials due to the lack of elections during wartime. Zelenskyy has countered that elections could be held if Ukraine’s allies provided sufficient security guarantees.
Residents and analysts alike see the referendum idea as a way for Zelenskyy to deflect responsibility for any concessions while signaling openness to dialogue. Surveys consistently show Ukrainians are weary of war and open to a ceasefire that freezes fighting along current front lines, but strongly oppose major territorial concessions, particularly in the Donbas. Roughly three-quarters of respondents reject withdrawing Ukrainian forces from the region.
“People want peace, but not surrender,” said Anton Hrushetskyi, executive director of the Kyiv International Institute for Sociology, which regularly conducts polling in Ukrainian-controlled areas. His organization’s most recent survey suggests Ukrainians remain willing to endure a prolonged war if it leads to acceptable peace terms.
Trust in the United States, however, has sharply declined. Only 21 per cent of Ukrainians now say they trust Washington, down from 41 per cent a year ago — a shift analysts attribute to growing concerns over U.S. pressure to compromise with Moscow.
Hrushetskyi described the referendum proposal as largely symbolic, noting that holding such a vote would be nearly impossible without a ceasefire — something Russia has repeatedly rejected. Moscow has also dismissed the idea outright, with Kremlin officials claiming the disputed territories are already Russian and therefore not subject to a Ukrainian vote.
Some experts argue a referendum could be technically feasible through online or phone voting, but doubt it would change the outcome. Political scientist Mikhail Alexseev of San Diego State University said Ukrainians would overwhelmingly reject any plan requiring them to relinquish more territory to Russia.
The debate has intensified following the leak of a U.S.-Russia–drafted 28-point roadmap last month. Ukraine and its European allies criticized the document as heavily skewed toward Moscow’s demands, including territorial concessions, military reductions and the abandonment of NATO ambitions in exchange for vague security guarantees.
For now, as Russian forces edge closer to key cities and diplomacy accelerates abroad, the future of Ukraine’s territory — and who gets to decide it — remains at the heart of a deeply fraught national and international debate.
