About half of the respondents are closely following the events around Ukraine. The majority of respondents support the actions of the Russian military and believe that the special military operation is progressing successfully. More than half of the respondents support the transition to peaceful negotiations, primarily to stop the loss of life. About a third are in favor of continuing military operations, primarily to “bring the matter to an end” and “finish what was started.” According to the majority, the United States should be present at the negotiating table on ending the conflict, in addition to Russia, and one in two respondents believes that Ukraine should participate in the negotiations. The respondents rate the negotiations between Russia and the United States positively. About a third of the respondents are ready to make concessions for the sake of signing a peace agreement. The most preferred terms of the peace treaty, according to the respondents, are: exchange of prisoners of war, ensuring the rights of Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine and protecting the status of the Russian Orthodox Church. The respondents consider Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the return of new territories to be unacceptable conditions.
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The conflict with Ukraine in January 2025: attention, support, attitude towards negotiations and possible mediation countries, opinion on the duration and possible outcome of the conflict.
In January 2025, the level of attention to events around Ukraine increased. The level of support for the actions of the Russian armed forces remains high. The share of respondents who advocate a transition to peaceful negotiations has reached almost two thirds, which is the highest figure for the entire measurement period. Two thirds of the respondents are confident that the participation of mediators in the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will facilitate the achievement of a peace agreement. The respondents see China and the United States primarily as intermediary countries, but also Turkey, Hungary and India. Over the past year, the number of respondents who believe that the military operations in Ukraine will end in the coming year has increased. Three quarters believe that the conflict will end with Russia’s victory.
The conflict with Ukraine in November 2024: attention, support, attitude to negotiations, difficulties and successes of the Special Military Operation, the clash between Russia and NATO, the use of nuclear weapons
The general level of attention to the Ukrainian events has not changed, while the Russians called the launch of the Oreshnik rocket the main event of last month. The level of support for military operations remains high. The number of supporters of the idea of peace talks is slowly increasing after a decline in August. More than two thirds of the respondents believe that the special operation is progressing successfully. Compared to last year, the proportion of those who are confident that the difficulties associated with the Special Military Operation are “still ahead” has decreased. More than half of the respondents believe that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into an armed confrontation with NATO. There is growing confidence among the respondents that the use of nuclear weapons in the current conflict can be justified
The conflict with Ukraine: attention, support, attitude to peace negotiations and to contract military service in October 2024
Attention to the Ukrainian events has not changed in recent months: about half of the respondents are closely following the events. The level of support for the military actions remains consistently high. The number of supporters of peace talks continues to grow slowly after a decline in August. If respondents had the opportunity to go back to the past, equal shares of respondents would support or prevent the decision to launch the special military operation. If a family member of the respondent had signed a contract to participate in the special military operation, about 40% would have supported such a decision, but the same number would not have supported it. Those who would approve of such a decision motivated it by the need to protect the homeland and civic duty. And those who would not approve said that they were worried about their loved ones and were in favor of peace.
Attitude towards China, Brazil, Turkey, Iran, France, Ukraine, the USA, the EU and the UN
Most Russians have a positive attitude towards China. Positive attitudes also prevail towards Brazil, Turkey and Iran. The European Union, the United States, Ukraine and France are mostly viewed negatively. The attitude towards the UN is usual rather negative, and respondents also have a poor opinion about its influence. Respondents who are positive about the UN explain their position by saying that the organization stands for peace, resolves international issues and protects the interests of smaller countries. The negative opinion about the UN is caused by beliefs in its uselessness, aggression towards Russia, and bias in favor of the West.
Conflict with Ukraine: attention, support, attitude to various terms of a peace agreement in September 2024
In recent months, attention to the situation in Ukraine has been growing. The level of support for the actions of the Russian armed forces remains high. The share of supporters of the negotiations dropped in August, however their number increased in September. If the president had decided to end the military conflict today, the majority of Russians would have supported his decision, but only a third of the respondents would have returned the annexed territories. Half of the respondents believe that the special operation has caused more harm, justifying it with loss of life, military losses, and large expenditures on the Special Military Operation. Less than a third believes that the special operation has brought more benefits, meaning the return of territories, the protection of the Russian-speaking population of Donbass and the strengthening of Russia’s international position. Two thirds of the respondents believe that the special operation is successful, but this number has been decreasing throughout the year. Most Russians are against making concessions to Ukraine. The respondents call the exchange of prisoners of war and an immediate ceasefire the preferred terms of the peace treaty, the majority oppose the return of new territories and Ukraine’s accession to NATO.
The conflict with Ukraine: key indicators, responsibility, reasons for concern, the threat of a clash with NATO and the use of nuclear weapons
About half of the respondents continue to follow the Ukrainian events quite closely. Support for the actions of the Russian armed forces also remains at a high level. For the first time in six months, the number of supporters of negotiations has increased significantly (up to 58%). Most of the respondents believe that Russia is more interested in negotiations. Two thirds of respondents still hold the United States and NATO responsible for what is happening, and their conviction has grown over the year. Half of the respondents allows the conflict to escalate into a direct clash between Russia and NATO. Russia’s military actions in Ukraine mainly cause Russians to be proud of Russia (48%) or alarm, fear and horror (33%), these feelings have prevailed among respondents since the beginning of the conflict. The majority of respondents are concerned about the shelling of Russian territories by Ukraine, the threat of the use of nuclear weapons and the supply of Western military equipment. One in three admits that Russia’s use of nuclear weapons during the conflict may be justified.
Conflict with Ukraine: Assessments for May 2024
Mass assessments of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict are stable. More than half of the respondents are monitoring the situation quite closely. Most support the actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Half of the respondents believe that it is necessary to move on to peace negotiations (43% are in favor of continuing military operations, their share has been growing in recent months). However, the majority is not ready to make concessions regarding Ukraine and this share is growing. Russians consider the exchange of prisoners of war and a ceasefire to be acceptable conditions for signing a peace agreement, while the return of new regions and Ukraine’s accession to NATO are completely unacceptable. If there was an opportunity to go back in time and cancel or support the start of Special Military Operation, slightly more than a third of the respondents would reverse this decision (their share has decreased slightly in recent months).
Conflict with Ukraine: Assessments for April 2024
Half of Russians continue to monitor the situation around Ukraine more or less closely. The level of support for the Russian Armed Forces remains high, they are supported by three quarters of Russians. After a short decline at the beginning of the year, the share of Russians who advocate peace talks began to recover — now it is almost 50 %. At the same time, if the resident had decided to stop military operations already “this week”, the majority (71%) would have supported his decision. However, this share is reduced to 30% if the return of new territories became a condition for the end of the conflict. Russians are not always able to adequately assess how widespread their own views on the “special operation” are in society.
Conflict with Ukraine: Assesments for March 2024
In March, attention to events in Ukraine increased. The level of support for the actions of the Russian armed forces remains consistently high. The number of supporters of peace talks has been declining since the end of last year, while the number of supporters of continued hostilities remains virtually unchanged. Supporters of the peace talks explain their position by saying that “there are many victims,” “people are dying,” and “war fatigue has accumulated.” Those who advocate the continuation of hostilities explain their opinion by saying that “it is necessary to go to the end,” “finish what has been started,” “destroy fascism,” “negotiations will lead to nothing.” About half of the respondents do not rule out a second wave of partial mobilization, but their number has decreased over the past year. The majority of respondents support the annexation of Crimea and believe that it has brought Russia more benefits — their number has grown over the past few years.