Russian Support For Ukraine War Has Collapsed In A Few Months

Russian public support for Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine has reportedly collapsed, according to a poll commissioned by the Kremlin “for internal use only.”

Only 25 percent of Russians now favor continuing the conflict, reported Meduza, a Russian-language independent news outlet that obtained the private poll.

A Meduza article published on Wednesday said the survey—conducted by the Federal Protective Service, a Russian intelligence agency—found that 55 percent of Russians favor peace talks with Kyiv.

Police officers run to detain a man holding a poster that reads “No war” during a unsanctioned protest at Manezhnaya Square in front of the Kremlin on March 13. Support for peace talks is growing, according to polls. Contributor/Getty ImagesThe Kremlin also commissioned polling in July, Meduza reported, and the results suggest public opinion has shifted considerably in just a few months. In the earlier research, 57 percent were in favor of continuing the war and 32 percent supported peace talks with Ukraine.

Meduza did not specify how many people were questioned for the two Kremlin surveys or when the new study was conducted.

The outlet pointed out that an October survey by the Levada Center, an independent Russian researcher, also found that a majority supported peace talks with Ukraine. In the Levada poll, 34 percent were in favor of continuing the war and 57 percent in favor of peace negotiations. It surveyed 1,604 Russian adults between October 20 and 26.

Two sources close to the Kremlin told Meduza that Putin’s government now intends to limit the data about attitudes to the war that is released to the public by state-owned pollster VTsIOM (the Russian Public Opinion Research Center).

“You can get all kinds of results these days—better not to do it at all,” said one source.

Another source, asked about the possibility of mass anti-war protests, told Meduza that “it’s best not to raise the temperature, and not to anger people if not necessary.”

Denis Volkov, director of the Levada Center, said support for peace talks with Ukraine had likely increased after the president announced a partial mobilization on September 21.

“This is sheer reluctance to take part in the war personally. They continue to support it, but they have very little desire to participate themselves,” said Volkov. “Besides, their support was, from the very start, something they declared with regard to what they perceived as having nothing to do with themselves.”

Volkov added: “Now the risks are greater and people want to start the talks.”

In October, Russia deployed its National Guard across the country to combat “increased attacks” on military registration and enlistment offices since the partial mobilization decree.

State Duma Deputy Alexander Khinshtein wrote on his Telegram channel on October 15 that security had been ramped up at offices in a number of cities, including Moscow. Defense officials said in September that Putin’s announcement would affect up to 300,000 reservists.

The internal polling also comes as Russia faces a string of military setbacks in Ukraine but makes marginal gains in Bakhmut, a town in the eastern Donbas region, where clashes have intensified in recent weeks.

Newsweek has contacted Russia’s foreign ministry for comment.

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