47% of Russians see invasion of Ukraine as detrimental, not beneficial – survey

Nearly half of the Russian citizens, 47%, believe that the large-scale invasion of Ukraine caused more harm than benefit. This is the highest recorded percentage since the full-scale war against Ukraine began.

The results of a survey conducted by the Russian Levada Center evidence that.

Simultaneously, 28% stated that the war resulted in "more benefits." An additional 25% were unsure.

It has been observed that within a year, the percentage of individuals confident in the war's advantages decreased by ten points (from 38% to 28%).

People who claim that the war caused more significant damage point to general grief and suffering (52%), military casualties (21%), deterioration of the economy (18%), widespread opposition to the war (13%), strained relationships with other nations (7%), and civilian deaths (7%).

The survey revealed that 60% of Russians surveyed believe that the hostilities are making successful progress. In February 2024, 70% of citizens shared this viewpoint.

However, based on the survey results, Russian citizens continue to show strong support for the actions of the Russian occupiers in Ukraine, with a consistent 76%. On the other hand, only 16% of Russians do not support them.

The survey was conducted between September 26 and October 2, using personal interviews with 1,606 adult participants from 137 settlements in 50 regions of the Russian Federation.

The margin of error for samples of 1,600 individuals (with a confidence level of 95%) is as follows: 3.4% for indicators around 50%; 2.9% for indicators around 25% / 75%; 2.0% for indicators around 10% / 90%; and 1.5% for indicators around 5% / 95%.

Earlier, the Russian publication Kholod reported that a record number of Russians are in support of reaching a compromise and ending Russia's war on Ukraine.

According to a survey by ExtremeScan and the Chronicle, 49% of those polled favor a peace deal, regardless of whether or not the Russian troops can achieve the original goals set by the Kremlin. The percentage of respondents who shared this view increased from 40% in February 2023 to 49% in January 2024.

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It is worth mentioning that as of January this year, a majority of 63% of Russians still showed support for the war in Ukraine, even though the Russian Federation currently has a struggling economy and low living standards.

Additionally, it has been stated that 58% of Ukrainian citizens think that, even if there is a large decrease in support from Western countries, it is still necessary to continue military actions to apply pressure on the Russian forces despite the potential dangers to the currently held Ukrainian territories.

Furthermore, nearly 67% of Ukrainians are not in favor of returning to the demarcation line on February 24, 2022, instead of reinstating the 1991 borders. Additionally, almost 64% of Ukrainians do not endorse the concept of engaging in direct talks with the Russian Federation to attain peace.