Majority of Russians back military operation in Ukraine: Survey

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A new survey conducted by the Levada Center Institute in January revealed that 75% of Russians support Russian forces and their military operation in Ukraine.

According to Zero Hedge, the support dipped to 72% around the announcement of partial mobilization in September and again to 71% in December.

The survey was conducted between January 26 and 31, 2023, based on an all-Russian representative sample of the urban and rural population of 1,616 people, in 137 cities.

This survey comes a year after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, during which Russian forces took control of large areas of the self-proclaimed republics of Lugansk and Donetsk.

The size of the Russian forces that participated in launching the military operation on the ground was estimated at 150,000 Russian soldiers, distributed in 4 axes of attack, within about 40 reinforced tactical battalions, mainly concentrated in the east and south.

It is worth noting that on the one-year anniversary of the Ukraine-Russia war, Western leaders have been doing their best to demonstrate their steady support for Ukraine. While US President Joe Biden announced new military assistance and further sanctions on Russia while on his surprise visit to Ukraine, European allies in Munich vowed additional military and financial support to Kiev.

Read: War in Ukraine: A conflict that will decide the global system's fate

However, some cracks have started to emerge; in the United States, a new AP poll has revealed that less than half of Americans (48%) support the United States giving arms to Ukraine, while In May 2022, less than three months into the war, 60% of US adults supported sending weapons to Ukraine, it further showed.

Another Pew poll from this year revealed that the number of Americans who believe the US is contributing "too much" to Ukraine has nearly quadrupled in less than a year.

A recent Ipsos poll reveals the European countries' descending trend in support for sending weapons to Ukraine, with German support falling below half for the first time.

What is even more surprising is that even some of Ukraine’s loudest supporters have become dispirited by the war: in the same survey, there was a 10 percent drop among Poles supporting the economic sanctions against Russia and an 11 percent drop in accepting Ukrainian refugees. 

During the first year of the war, Western leaders showed remarkable levels of unity; however, their voters are starting to be more hesitant in their commitment today.