Most Russians also do not expect a Ukrainian attack on their country -- only 31% of Russians said that was likely. In fact, two out of three (65%) expect a peaceful end to the tensions between Russia and Ukraine. And most Ukrainians reject Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assertion in a speech on Monday that their country has no historical basis and is essentially a creation of the Soviet Union. … The media gives only authorized information, and the [country at large] 'absorbs’ losses,” she explained. And when it comes to Russian war casualties, Koneva said the losses have been successfully covered up by the country’s strict censorship measures. The national guard is controlled by the interior ministry and is responsible for internal security, public order and guarding critical infrastructure. “Foreign volunteers who took up arms to defend Ukraine, all those who fight for Ukraine’s freedom as if it were their homeland,” Mr Zelensky said. An artillery strike that killed at least 25 people at a crowded market in Russian-occupied Donetsk shows Ukraine’s “vicious side”, the Kremlin has said. Donald Tusk has vowed to “solve problems” between Poland and Ukraine after disgruntled Polish truckers called off their blockade of the Ukrainian border. Ukraine’s defence intelligence said in December that rat-bite fever had been spreading rapidly among Russian soldiers on the Kupyansk front. Anna*, 22, Moscow – ‘None of us wanted this war’ Koneva said that in June 2023, respondents were asked to send virtual telegrams to ordinary Ukrainian citizens. Some 38% of respondents reported the war “has reduced their options or ruined their plans.” Among them, 14% of respondents reported a job loss, 36% a decrease in income and 56% reported spending more savings on food. As a result, researchers estimate that the core group of war supporters numbers around 30% to 35% of the total number of survey respondents. “For example, a person says, 'I support,' but then researchers will follow up with questions to determine if they are ready to go to war, ready to donate to the Russian army or expect benefits from a possible victory, Koneva explained. In a written response to questions, she said that despite the self-censorship, pollsters can usually have higher confidence in the reliability of poll findings that show some fluctuation over time. Vladimir Putin’s Russia has sharply constricted the space for free expression in recent years, but some independent pollsters who fled the country have not abandoned their work. Around 80% of the male population complete some form of military service. The day before the start of the war, Putin told the nation of WWII-era promises not to expand NATO eastward and said those promises had been broken five times. Now, I’m very encouraged by the fact that the world understands that the Russian people did not choose this war, that instead it was started by a president who lives in some absurd reality of his own. They are still trying to track Russian public opinion on key topics, including the war in Ukraine, providing a rare window into how the Russian public views the war’s dramatic turns over the last 18 months. History will ultimately decide how much of the blame for initiating the bloodshed rests on Vladimir Putin alone, as well as his Kremlin acolytes, and how much responsibility rests with the tacit acceptance of ordinary Russians. We must understand that polls show us not what people really think or really believe, but what they want to share, he says. “We discussed with the prime minister that all critical issues that exist can be resolved at the level of governments, and work on this will begin shortly,” Mr Zelensky said. A Ukrainian father was killed and his daughter wounded in a Russian attack on an eastern Ukrainian city on Monday morning. Finland, Nato's newest member and a country which has an 800-mile border with Russia, has wider conscription. Around 80% of the male population complete some form of military service. Refusal can mean a jail sentence, though there is the option of civilian service out of uniform too. There is a sense in the upper echelons of the British military that many politicians and most of the public have not grasped the threat they see. ... if Russia feels threatened by foreign activity in former Soviet countries But surrounded by reminders of Russia's often relentlessly violent past I felt war was now inevitable. My daily walks were my way of saying goodbye to a world, and perhaps even a country, that could never be the same again. Was Putin really going to start a war with Ukraine? he asked. For centuries Muscovites have come here to build homes and businesses and get on quietly with their lives, leaving their rulers to pursue greater ambitions on a bigger stage where ordinary Russians have never had a part to play. “It’s not about having to reconsider this one event but everything you thought and understood over the last ten or fifteen years,” Volkov told me. Was Putin really going to start a war with Ukraine? he asked. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has focussed the West's military minds. As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a foreign agent by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear. The Crimea consensus and the symbolic might of state institutions remained, but they lost their power to mobilize. ” — showed that there is little enthusiasm for a “real,” large-scale war among members of Russia’s modern, urban society (the country’s military operations in Syria and eastern Ukraine in recent years were not seen as real wars). By that, he means that those who were most connected to the outside world might have been less inclined to support Putin's military operation, but now find themselves cut off from the West. That means they're on conflicting sides — and feel the shunning of Russia most of all. We are measuring public attitudes that, more or less, coincide with how people will behave in public, he adds. Russia has opened up at times after moments of calamity and catastrophe. Probably yes, if https://euronewstop.co.uk/how-big-is-ukraine-compared-to-uk.html had stood up for their freedom and challenged state TV propaganda about trumped up threats from the West and Ukraine. Some of the support is more passive, Botchkovar says, coming from Russian citizens who’ve placed their faith in Putin as a political leader, but who may not necessarily vocalize that support. The common thread, she says, is a deep distrust of the West, rooted in decades of state propaganda. As concern grows that Russia will invade Ukraine, BBC correspondents gauge the public mood in Moscow and Kyiv on whether the crisis could lead to a wider war in Europe. Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. It’s hard to differentiate global problems from everyday ones, as you can see. The protesters trickle along smaller streets, following location updates from dedicated Telegram channels. Koneva said public opinion in Russia increasingly seems resigned to a longer-term war. Additionally, data suggests that up to 30% of Russians say they’re not closely following the situation in Ukraine, she says. One-quarter of respondents say they already feel the effect of those sanctions, according to Volkov. People who are from disadvantaged groups are suffering the most, he adds, because they don't have the resources to adapt. We must understand that polls show us not what people really think or really believe, but what they want to share, he says. Volkov told Inskeep that he's aware of the pitfalls with these polls, but they may still have valuable information to teach us.
https://euronewstop.co.uk/how-big-is-ukraine-compared-to-uk.html
