Two-thirds of Ukrainians do not trust China as mediator in negotiations with Russia

As many as 62% of Ukrainians do not trust China as a possible mediator in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, while 22% others would be ready to trust Beijing with such a role.

Maria Zolkina, head of the Regional Security and Conflict Research Department of Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, reported the data at a press conference “War and diplomacy: how Ukrainians feel about possible negotiations and security guarantees” hosted by Ukrinform.

"Two-thirds of Ukrainians do not trust China's mediation, while the number of those who do amounts to 22%,” Zolkina said. According to her, from the point of view of legitimization of the negotiation process, China’s prospects of assuming the mediator’s role are not quite optimistic.

The nationwide survey was conducted by Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation in cooperation with the sociological service of Razumkov Center from August 8 to 15, 2024. The face-to-face survey was conducted in Vinnytsia, Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhzhia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi regions and the city of Kyiv (in Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Kherson regions – only in the territories controlled by the government of Ukraine and where hostilities are not being waged).

A total of 2017 respondents over the age of 18 were surveyed. The theoretical sampling error does not exceed 2.3%. At the same time, additional systematic deviations of the sample may be caused by the consequences of Russian aggression, in particular, the forced evacuation of millions of citizens.