JUNE 2025: BAROMETER Informat.ro - INSCOP Research: War in Ukraine | 55.8% of Romanians believe that in order to stop the war, Russia should withdraw and return the occupied territories to Ukraine

According to BAROMETER Informat.ro - INSCOP Research conducted between May 26-30, 2025, 6 out of 10 Romanians believe that there is no chance that the war in Ukraine will end anytime soon.

BAROMETER Informat.ro - INSCOP Research is a monthly opinion poll conducted by INSCOP Research commissioned by the news platform Informat.ro in partnership with the think-tank Strategic Thinking Group.

The Informat.ro - INSCOP ResearchBAROMETER aims to bring to public attention topics of interest to stimulate national conversations on various topics and public policies essential for Romania's present and future based on the opinion of Romanians in partnership with prestigious think tanks and academic institutions. It is an approach through which we aim to contribute to the consolidation of democracy through the use of scientific and credible tools that bring the voice of citizens to the forefront of public debate.

Methodology: Data was collected between May 26-30, 2025. Research method: questionnaire interview. Data were collected using the CATI method (telephone interviews), the simple stratified sample size was 1150 persons, representative by significant socio-demographic categories (sex, age, occupation) for the non-institutionalized population of Romania, aged 18 years and over. The maximum permissible error of the data is ± 2.9% at 95% confidence level.

Remus Ștefureac - Director INSCOP Research: "The majority of the population (almost two thirds) does not see a near end to the war in Ukraine, which may reflect the lack of significant progress in negotiations, the prolongation of the conflict and the perception of a geopolitical stalemate. The fact that one-third of Romanians believe that the war could end may indicate either hopes for an eventual international mediation or a collective desire for peace that goes beyond perceptions of the facts on the ground. The small percentage of undecided suggests that most citizens have a strong opinion on the subject. The percentage who believe Russia should withdraw completely from Ukraine as a solution to end the war drops from 64% to 55.8% in less than two years. While this option remains in the majority, the 8 percentage point difference suggests an increase in public fatigue with the protracted conflict amid the strong influence of Russian propaganda about the need for compromise. These data suggest a polarization and gradual erosion of maximalist positions on the conflict, with a slow shift towards compromise options. Although the majority opinion still holds that Russia should withdraw completely, the growing support for concessions points to a psychosocial context more open to political realism and perhaps even geopolitical cynicism fueled by the constant disinfomations amplified in the domestic electoral context over the past year."

Perception on the quick end of the war in Ukraine

31.6% of Romanians believe that there is a chance that the war in Ukraine will end soon, while 62.8% think the opposite. 5.6% do not know or do not answer this question.

Optimism about the war ending soon is higher among young people, PSD/PNL voters, those from small towns and state employees.

Skepticism is more present among the elderly, people with higher education, Bucharest residents and private sector employees.

Perceptions on solutions to end the war in Ukraine

55.8% of those polled believe that in order to stop the war , Russia should withdraw and return the occupied territories to Ukraine (64% held this view in September 2023). 32.7% believe that in order to stop the war , Ukraine should make certain concessions to Russia (24.1% held this view in September 2023). 11.5% don't know or don't answer this question (11.9% in September 2023).

Think that in order to stop the war, Russia should withdraw and return the occupied territories to Ukraine especially: PSD, PNL and USR voters, people over 45 and small urban dwellers.

I believe that in order to stop the war, Ukraine should make certain concessions to Russia in particular: GOLD voters, men, people under 44, large urban dwellers and state employees.

The graphical presentation of the data is available here: BAROMETER Informed.ro - INSCOP Research: The War in Ukraine