Nearly 70 percent of respondents to a poll in Ukraine believe the country should continue to fend off Russia's invasion and reclaim lost territory. But only 3 percent believe victory is getting close.

NHK and the Kyiv-based research organization Rating Group conducted a joint telephone survey between February 9 and 11 on 1,000 people.

The respondents were aged 18 and over and live across Ukraine, except Crimea, Donbas, and areas where mobile networks were unavailable.

Fifty-one percent believe Ukraine is getting closer to victory "step by step," but just 3 percent said victory is "getting closer."

Thirty percent said the conflict has reached a stalemate, and 12 percent said victory is either "getting away" or getting away "step by step".

When asked what they expect of their government, 55 percent said they want to see a return to the borders of 1991, including Crimea and Donbas.

Thirteen percent said they want Ukraine's borders restored to the way they were on February 23, 2022, the day before the invasion began.

Twenty-four percent said they want to stop fighting and start peace negotiations. The figure has doubled from a year ago.

Saturday marks two years since Russia launched the invasion, and University of Tokyo Associate Professor Koizumi Yu says the conflict is likely to drag on into a third and fourth year.

Koizumi suggested Ukrainian troops are exhausted from their counteroffensive launched last year, and Russia lacks the capacity for a large-scale, coordinated attack.