An opinion poll shared Thursday by US News showed that the popularity of Russian President Vladimir Putin has risen since the start of the military operation in Ukraine. The poll is conducted by the independent Levada Center.

The first poll conducted by the Levada Center, an independent Russian non-governmental polling organization, since Moscow began sending its forces to Ukraine, showed that 83% of Russians approve of Putin's decisions, up from 71% in early February. 

The Levada center also indicated that 15% of the respondents said they did not approve of President Putin's actions, down from 27%, while 2% refused to answer.

The poll showed an improvement in the popularity of the Russian government and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin as well. Opinion polls conducted by other parties also concluded that Putin's approval rating exceeded 80%.

Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stressed that the level of support for President Vladimir Putin's policies was "very high", which gives "strength to the president."

Opinion poll: 73% of Russians support operation in Ukraine

The results of a previous opinion poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center showed an increase in the percentage of Russian citizens supporting the special military operation in Ukraine, from 65% to 73%.

According to the most recent poll, which was conducted on March 20, 73% of the polling sample supported the decision of the military operation, while 14% were against it.

The poll that was conducted on February 27 showed that 65% of respondents supported the operation, while 17% did not.

As for the goals of the operation, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center noted that 71 percent of the respondents believe Russia wants to ensure its security, achieve the disarmament of Ukraine, and prevent NATO from deploying its bases in Kiev.

On February 24, Russia launched a special operation to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine, in response to requests from the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics for assistance in combating Ukrainian troops' aggression.

The special operation only targets Ukrainian military facilities, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, and the civilian population is not at risk. Moscow has stated that it has no intention of occupying Ukraine.