Poll: Four in Five Ukrainians Back Refinery Strikes Even if US Aid Is Cut

A large majority of Ukrainians believe their country should continue striking Russian oil refineries even if the United States stops or reduces its assistance, according to a new survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS). Eighty percent of respondents took that position.

Only 11% of those polled said the attacks on refineries should end. The remaining 8% were undecided.

The poll also measured how long Ukrainians are willing to endure the war. Some 63% said they are prepared to keep going for as long as necessary. Another 5% named a period of one year, while 21% pointed to a shorter timeframe, ranging from a few months to half a year. The other 11% had no firm answer.

KIIS carried out the survey from 16 to 25 October 2026 through telephone interviews. In total, 828 people were interviewed across all regions of Ukraine under government control.

Participants were adult citizens aged 18 and older who lived in government-controlled territory at the time of the poll. Residents of areas outside Kyiv's control were therefore not part of the sample.

KIIS stated the formal statistical margin of error, at a probability of 0.95 and with a design effect of 1.3, did not exceed 4.4% for indicators near 50%. For indicators near 25% it was 3.8%, for those near 10% it was 2.7%, and for those near 5% it was 1.9%.

The institute also cautioned that wartime conditions add a certain systematic deviation on top of that formal margin. KIIS has previously described the factors that may affect the quality of survey results during the war.