In a panel I moderated, the Ukrainian historian and author Olena Stiazhkina began her remarks by expressing her gratitude to the Ukrainian armed forces for their defense of the homeland. “We’re all living on credit given to us by the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” she said. “Not just us but all of Europe is living on this credit.” She added, “I want to mark my position as someone lacking objectivity.
- Al Jazeera spoke with five young Russians about their views on the invasion, and how the blowback has affected them.
- That would require planning and a change of mindset in government.
- Ukraine’s foreign ministry has slapped down Slovakia’s prime minister for saying the war with Russia will only end when Kyiv gives up its claim to Crimea and the Donbas.
- Koneva said that in June 2023, respondents were asked to send "virtual telegrams to ordinary Ukrainian citizens."
- The second, the seemingly inevitable offensive, stalled in the summer and was abandoned in early September following the success of Ukraine’s counter-offensive.
He is a strong believer in a professional army made up of volunteers. But he was making the point that if war broke out troop numbers would be too small. The overall effect means Finland can muster one of Europe's largest armies. The size of its active armed forces is only 19,000 personnel, but it can call on another 238,000 reserves. In Sweden and Norway, conscription is partial - not everyone gets drafted. But it boosts the strength of the professional armed forces, which is often relatively small.
Most Russians expect a peaceful end to the conflict – Ukrainians are undecided
“Everyone has their own opinion but in general, I believe that children and teenagers should not directly express an ardent point of view about politics, and about the special military operation. Even so, the messages made for some jarring moments for some of those present, featuring as they often did ultra-patriotic and sometimes militaristic declarations. Many of the Ukrainian writers at the forum also expressed similar sentiments.
It seemed to me that all this was not real and could not last long. But as time passed, I got used to it, no matter how terrible it was. People get used even to war, especially if they live far from the battleground. https://euronewstop.co.uk/what-does-ukraine-war-mean-for-uk.html hasn’t been stable for a long time and the sanctions haven’t gone away. Travel is hard – you can’t go anywhere with a Russian passport. Many Western brands leaving Russia have paved the way for young entrepreneurs and new, high-quality Russian brands are thriving.
Russia-Ukraine: What do young Russians think about the war?
Young Russians tell us about a war few wanted and how the sanctions are affecting their lives. “The conflict between Russia and Ukraine may last for several more years. I believe that the political system in Russia will be severely degraded in the coming years. Business, housing and community services, medicine, education – everything will sag. After such colossal losses, the army will have to be rebuilt again.
Contrary to Western warnings that Russian President Vladimir Putin is putting forces in place for an attack on the country’s western neighbor, only 13% of Russians think the Kremlin is likely to initiate military action towards Ukraine. He said for many people in this group, opinions changed in June 2022 when many realized the conflict was becoming protracted and not the fast military operation initially promised. State propaganda and fake news about Ukraine “shooting its own citizens in the Donbas region” started back in 2014 and since then has been increasing in its pace and volume. At the same time, there are several potential arguments why the results from the early polls should be treated with great caution – or perhaps even discounted as meaningful. Even those who did agree to answer the questions in Miniailo’s survey displayed a heightened level of fear and discomfort. One man in his fifties said, “It is now prohibited by law to answer what you think about this topic.
Anna*, 22, Moscow – ‘None of us wanted this war’
The margins of sampling error for these geographic regions are between 5.8 and 7.6 percentage points. Savanta ComRes interviewed 1,021 people aged 18 and up in Russia and 1,075 people 18 and up in Ukraine online between February 7 and 15. Data was weighted to be representative of the Russian and Ukrainian populations by age, sex, and region.
- In practice, however, the chaotic nature of the mobilisation is throwing off Mr Putin’s calculations.
- Why Russians do not protest is perhaps better explained by Russian history and not opinion polls.
- Just over a quarter (28%) of people in Ukraine say Russians and Ukrainians are one people, while two thirds (66%) say they are not – a mirror image of the view from across the border.
- While he said such an attack is unlikely now, "our experts expect a period of five to eight years in which this could be possible".
- If those who see it as a “just” war start to suspect that it is slipping into an existential conflict with the West, or if conformists change their risk calculations because they face being drafted, the balance of opinion may shift decisively.
Western leaders hope the unprecedented measures will bring about a change in thinking in the Kremlin. Millions of Russians like him are starting to feel the effect of Western economic sanctions designed to punish the country for invading neighbouring Ukraine. Despite these divisions in Ukrainian society, it should also be said that since the Russian annexation of Crimea earlier this year, many Ukrainians - from east and west - feel Russia has gone too far, and has destabilized their homeland.
Koneva said initially, when Russians heard about the damage and losses suffered by Ukrainians, Russian people looked more critically at the reason the Ukrainians were suffering. Overall, researchers say they have tracked just a 9% fall in support for the war last year. “Analysts have learned to deal with and avoid authoritarian pressure,” said Koneva, founder of independent research agency ExtremeScan.
Let me - someone who was born and brought up in Ukraine - give you a sense of how people in Ukraine see the situation. It began in February when we saw huge protests in the capital Kiev, against the pro-Russian President, Viktor Yanukovych, who eventually fled to Russia, but not before his security forces had killed many protesters. “I’m scared and hurt for my friends in Ukraine, who write to me ‘we’re going down into the bomb shelter’. On the contrary, the people taking to the streets are those against it, despite threats of arrests. On the sixth day of the war in Ukraine, there have been more than 6,000 arrests at anti-war protests across Russia.
- As a result, researchers estimate that the core group of war supporters numbers around 30% to 35% of the total number of survey respondents.
- Also, prices for some ordinary things, like cosmetics and food, have doubled, but in many cases, we have no alternative because there are no factories here that produce those products.
- Even those who did agree to answer the questions in Miniailo’s survey displayed a heightened level of fear and discomfort.
- It’s too scary, the idea of dying or being locked up for life.
- Already residents in Moscow are reporting some queues in food stores as people buy goods they think will be in short supply due to price rises or trade restrictions.
In response, the US, EU, UK and other countries have levelled sanctions, both general and targeted, and doors have closed to Russians around the world, from research institutions to sporting events, in protest at Russia’s invasion. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, an outcry has arisen around the world. On March 2, the UN voted overwhelmingly to approve a resolution demanding the end of the invasion, with only five countries opposing – Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, and Syria. As the war rages on, thousands have been killed according to Ukrainian authorities and many more injured.
She kept checking the news on her phone after President Vladimir V. Putin’s aggrieved speech to the nation on Monday that all but threatened Ukraine with war. But 66 percent of Russians aged between 18 and 24 have a positive or very positive attitude toward Ukraine. That’s despite a backdrop of unceasing vitriol directed toward Ukraine on state television, and the persistent, oft-repeated idea that it is external attacks that require Russia to take defensive measures. The educated and the wealthy, many of them urban residents, are fleeing mobilisation. Those with more meagre resources are going to recruiting stations.
“Today’s actions by Zelensky once again prove that our president is right about launching a special military operation,” he said. Earlier this month, its civil defence minister told a defence conference "there could be a war in Sweden". Examples of Yugoslavia and Libya, two states bombed by NATO forces, are used to drive fears that Russia may be next.