Nearly 3 in 4 Britons say they do not trust President Trump to help deliver peace in Ukraine-Russia conflict

Three quarters of Britons do not trust President Trump to help deliver peace in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, according to a new poll by Ipsos UK for ITV news.  However, the public are split on whether President Trump’s planned state visit to the UK should still go ahead, with no majority in favour of cancelling it, and there is not much confidence that the UK or the UK and the EU could protect Ukraine without American support.

The poll was conducted on March 4-5, 2025, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s contentious visit to the Oval Office, and the subsequent emergency summit of European leaders led by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Ipsos’ research also found that Britons are split on whether the UK should prioritise working more closely with the EU or with the EU and US equally over Ukraine.

Key findings

• Almost three-quarters of the public (73%) say they do not trust President Trump very much or at all to help deliver peace in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Britons are split on whether they trust Keir Starmer to do so, with an equal proportion (45%) saying they do and do not trust him.
• Two-thirds of Britons (68%) think that Donald Trump has made the wrong decision to pause aid to Ukraine. This rises to 82% of those aged 55-75. Those who voted for Reform UK at the last general election are more split, with nearly half (48%) believing that Trump made the wrong decision and 41% believing it was right.

• Overall, around two-thirds of Britons (65%) think that Ukraine is being treated unfairly by the US under President Trump. This rises to 74% of 2024 Labour voters, and 78% of those aged 55-75. Just under half (47%) of Reform UK voters think Trump is treating Ukraine unfairly, and 33% fairly.
• The public is split on whether Donald Trump’s planned state visit to the UK should go ahead, with 46% in favour and 44% opposed.
• The public is also split on whether the UK should prioritise working more closely with the EU, or with the EU and US equally over Ukraine. Just 12% of Britons believe the UK should prioritise working more closely with the US, 37% believe the UK should prioritise working with the EU, and 32% believe the UK should work with both equally (8% neither). Labour voters are more likely to favour closer alignment with the EU, while Reform UK voters are more likely to prioritise the US.

• The public is not very confident that the UK on its own or the UK with the EU could protect Ukraine without support from the US. Only 23% of Britons are confident that the UK could protect Ukraine without US support (62% not confident). 39% believe that the UK and the EU together could probably protect Ukraine without American support, while 45% believe this would not be possible.

Commenting on the findings, Gideon Skinner, Senior Director of UK Politics at Ipsos, said:

Our latest polling shows that while many still see the US as a key ally, there is considerable concern over President Trump's approach towards Ukraine, with two thirds believing that his decision to pause aid to the country was wrong, and that overall he is treating Ukraine unfairly. However, while there is scepticism over how helpful Trump is going to be in delivering peace, many Britons also believe that keeping America’s support for Ukraine is vital, and criticism of Trump does not translate into the same widespread belief that his state visit should be cancelled, for example. This suggests that the public appreciates some of the difficulties facing Keir Starmer as he continues to navigate a delicate balancing act between the US and Europe, even as they are reserving judgement on how successful he is going to be.

Technical note: 

• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 981 adults aged 18-75 across Great Britain. Polling was conducted online between the 4th and 5th March 2025.  
• Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.