more and more Russians support the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine

The research project “Chronicles” and the research group Extreme Scan conducted a survey among Russians on the topic of their attitude to the war in Ukraine. It was timed to coincide with the two-year anniversary of the beginning of mobilization in Russia.

It is reported that 800 respondents over the age of 18 took part in the telephone survey, which was conducted from September 10 to 17. The sample was random.

According to researchers, 49% of respondents would support the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and the start of peace negotiations without achieving the military goals set by the country’s authorities. 33% of respondents opposed such a decision. 63% of survey participants were in favor of concluding a peace treaty with mutual concessions between Russia and Ukraine in the next hour.

32% of respondents declared their readiness to participate in the war on the orders of the Ministry of Defense, 30% declared their unwillingness to participate in hostilities. 29% of respondents would support a new wave of mobilization.

Researchers note that the number of people advocating the withdrawal of Russian troops and a truce without achieving the goals of the war has increased by 9% compared to February 2023. At that time, 40% of respondents spoke in favor of such an initiative.

Respondents were also asked whether it is more important to oust the Ukrainian army from the Kursk region or to seize new territories in the Donbass. 53% of those polled were in favor of ousting the Ukrainian Armed Forces from near Kursk, 15% in favor of seizing territories in the Donetsk region.

Extreme Scan also conducted an additional telephone survey involving 5,500 people over 18 years of age. They were asked whether the men around them were ready to go to war in the event of mobilization. 23% stated that they are ready, 38% of those surveyed claim that they are not ready, another 19% believe that it is 50 to 50. The probability of a new mobilization is estimated by 57% of the survey participants as high, and 28% believe that such a probability is low. 51% of respondents sympathize with those who refrain from participating in the war, 27% condemn such people.

• In September 2022, the Russian authorities announced the so-called partial mobilization for war with Ukraine. According to official data, about 300 thousand people were called up. The decree on mobilization is still in effect.
• In September 2023, the chairman of the State Duma defense committee, Andrey Kartapolov, said that there would be no rotation of those mobilized, which means that those called up for mobilization would also be required to remain in the zone of hostilities until their end. This caused violent indignation among groups of relatives and friends of the mobilized, who regularly turn to the authorities with requests to return soldiers from the front and recruit new ones instead.