International
Majority of Ukrainians want war to end, even without total victory
Quick Hit:
A new Gallup poll shows a dramatic shift in Ukrainian public opinion, with nearly seven in ten now saying the war with Russia should end through negotiations “as soon as possible.” Support for fighting until total victory has collapsed since 2022, even as skepticism remains high that peace will come soon.
Key Details:
- Gallup found 69% of Ukrainians now favor an immediate push for negotiations to end the war — a complete reversal from 2022, when 73% wanted to fight until outright victory.
- Just 24% now support fighting “to the bitter end,” while optimism about NATO membership is fading; more believe Ukraine will “never” join NATO than think it will happen within the next decade.
- While 68% doubt the fighting will end within a year, most Ukrainians remain more hopeful about joining the EU, with only 18% saying it will never happen.
More than three years into the war, Ukrainians’ support for continuing to fight until victory has hit a new low (24%).
New data: https://t.co/l5IS4CPpaN pic.twitter.com/nH02tMvnY4
— Gallup (@Gallup) August 7, 2025
Diving Deeper:
Public opinion in Ukraine has undergone a stunning turnaround since Russia’s 2022 invasion, with a new Gallup poll showing most Ukrainians now want the war brought to a negotiated close as soon as possible. Sixty-nine percent of respondents said Ukraine “should seek to negotiate an ending to the war as soon as possible,” up from just 22% in the war’s first year. By contrast, only 24% support continuing the fight until Ukraine achieves total victory, down sharply from 73% in 2022.
Gallup noted that the survey did not cover areas currently under Russian control — home to roughly 10% of Ukraine’s pre-war population — but found the shift in opinion was evident across all regions and demographics.
Despite the overwhelming appetite for talks, optimism that peace is near remains low. Only 5% said it was “very likely” the conflict would see a “lasting end” within 12 months, with 25% calling it very or slightly likely and 68% saying they believe such an outcome is unlikely.
Confidence in NATO membership has also declined sharply. For the first time since the war began, more Ukrainians believe their country will “never” join NATO than believe it will happen within ten years. Another quarter said it could take 10 years or more — including beyond 20 years — to gain membership. By comparison, in 2022, optimism about joining the alliance was nearly double today’s levels.
There is more optimism about the European Union. A clear majority believes eventual membership is coming, with only 18% saying it will “never” happen.
The polling comes as the United States and Russia edge toward potentially more substantive talks, with discussion of a direct meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin within the week. A proposed trilateral meeting that would also include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appears to have been rejected by Moscow — a move that could stall progress and reinforce Trump’s skepticism that negotiations are yielding meaningful results.
The shift in Ukrainian sentiment puts public opinion at odds with the stated war aims of Zelensky and several European leaders, who continue to insist that the only acceptable outcome is reclaiming all territory recognized by the United Nations as part of Ukraine — including Crimea, which Russia has held for over a decade. In May, the European Union reiterated that it remains committed to this hardline goal, framing it as essential to any lasting settlement.
From LifeSiteNews
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that HHS is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development contracts and moving away from the technology in favor of ‘safer’ alternatives.
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has announced it is “winding down” almost $500 million worth of mRNA vaccine projects and rejecting future exploration of the technology in favor of more conventional vaccines, in perhaps the biggest delivery yet of what his supporters hoped for when President Donald Trump appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the department.
“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” Kennedy said in a Tuesday press release. “BARDA [the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority] is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”
“Let me be absolutely clear: HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them. That’s why we’re moving beyond the limitations of mRNA and investing in better solutions,” Kennedy added.
We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted. BARDA is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding toward… pic.twitter.com/GPKbuU7ywN
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) August 5, 2025
Some projects will be canceled outright, while others will be modified to shift focus away from mRNA and toward other work. “While some final-stage contracts (e.g., Arcturus and Amplitude) will be allowed to run their course to preserve prior taxpayer investment, no new mRNA-based projects will be initiated,” HHS explains.
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a doctor who voted to confirm Kennedy after receiving assurance he was less opposed to conventional vaccines than his history suggested, said the move has “conceded to China an important technology needed to combat cancer and infectious disease,” and “works against” President Trump’s goals to “Make America Healthy Again and Make America Great Again.”
READ: mRNA vaccines linked to genetic changes that can cause cancer, autoimmune disorders
When asked about HHS’s decision the next day, Trump said “we’re going to look at that” before declaring that his first administration’s Operation Warp Speed initiative, under which the COVID-19 shots were developed in record time, was “considered one of the most incredible things ever done in this country,” but suggested now the focus was on other solutions for other diseases. “We are speaking about it, we have meetings about it tomorrow … and we’ll determine,” the president said.
Whether or not mRNA research will resume in the future under more rigorous standards, the technology has drawn controversy due to its use by the most prominent COVID-19 shots, which were developed in record time by the first Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed initiative.
The federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reports 38,709 deaths, 221,030 hospitalizations, 22,331 heart attacks, and 28,966 myocarditis and pericarditis cases as of June 27, among other ailments. U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) researchers have recognized a “high verification rate of reports of myocarditis to VAERS after mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination,” leading to the conclusion that “under-reporting is more likely” than over-reporting.
An analysis of 99 million people across eight countries published in the journal Vaccine “observed significantly higher risks of myocarditis following the first, second and third doses” of mRNA-based COVID shots, as well as signs of increased risk of “pericarditis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis,” and other “potential safety signals that require further investigation.” In April 2024, the CDC was forced to release by court order 780,000 previously undisclosed reports of serious adverse reactions, and a study out of Japan found “statistically significant increases” in cancer deaths after third doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 shots, and offered several theories for a causal link.
In May, U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Marty Makary and vaccine chief Dr. Vinay Prasad announced that there would no longer be blanket recommendations for all Americans to receive the shot, but the “risk factors” it would still be recommended for include asthma, cancer, cerebrovascular disease, chronic kidney diseases, a handful of chronic liver and lung diseases, diabetes, disabilities such as Down’s syndrome, heart conditions, HIV, dementia, Parkinson’s, obesity, smoking, tuberculosis, and more. Kennedy Jr. subsequently announced COVID shots would not be recommended to healthy children or pregnant women.
However, in June, the Trump administration approved a new mRNA-based COVID-19 shot from Moderna, for “individuals who have been previously vaccinated with any COVID-19 vaccine and are: 65 years and older, or 12 through 64 with at least one underlying condition that puts them at high risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19.”
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