Russia-Ukraine: What do young Russians think about the war? Russia-Ukraine war

In his mobilisation speech on September 21st, Mr Putin used choice rhetoric of the party of total war to persuade Russian citizens of the enemy’s proximity and the need to defend the motherland. Many commentators declared that this rhetoric would undermine the fragile support of the majority for the war. Mr Putin has a long record of masterfully manipulating public sentiment. By siding with the more militant part of the pro-war camp, which has long demanded mobilisation, Mr Putin may force doubters to pick a side and thus polarise society. He calculates that the greater (though still limited) involvement of the Russian population in Ukraine may push Russians to support their boys in uniform more strongly. It will drive a wedge between families whose members fight, and those whose run for the border or curse the war.

“My father has a very strange position – it seems that he simultaneously supports and does not support the special military operation. Overall, he’s always had nationalist views, so it’s not surprising. I haven’t lived with my parents for many years, but even if I did, I wouldn’t argue with them, because it’s their business what to think. 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. What do Russians make of their country’s invasion of Ukraine?

Katya, 21, Moscow – ‘I don’t attend protests. It’s too scary, the idea of dying or being locked up for life’

He contrasts this to public opinion surrounding the annexation of Crimea in 2014, recalling that there were positive feelings and even "euphoria" at the time. Early Thursday morning, any remaining skepticism that their country would invade was put to rest, when Mr. Putin declared a “special military operation” in Ukraine. 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.

• That is because its most avid proponents, and its most intractable opponents, will not change their minds.
• Still, he notes, the survey results reveal at least as much about what people are willing to say in public than about how they truly feel.
• Twenty-one per cent of TV viewers didn’t know the goal of the operation.
• Unnamed Indian government sources have suggested India wants to distance itself from Russia, according to Reuters news agency.
• But now time has passed, it’s become obvious that no positive outcomes are to be expected.

Western leaders hope the unprecedented measures will bring about a change in thinking in the Kremlin. "I am scared here - people have been arrested for speaking against 'the party line'. I feel ashamed and I didn't even vote for those in power." It was rather cheap, but now I want to buy AirPods and they’re really expensive. They were 7,000 roubles and now cost more than 14,000 roubles. Their town has been directly affected, so we are worried about them. Right now, they are relatively safe, but it’s a constant worry for my family.

What war could mean for life in modern Britain

On Sunday evening, when sanctions against Russian central bank reserves were announced, you could still use an app to order a dollar for up to 140 roubles, and a euro for up to 150. At the start of 2022 one dollar traded for about 75 roubles and a euro for 80. But the war has helped set new records - at one point on Monday a dollar cost 113 roubles and a euro, 127. One of my friends is against our government while her grandmother supports them, and I know that’s caused a quarrel between them. And other specialised apps, like Matlab (a programming and computing platform) and Coursera (an online course platform). 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.

• I don’t support that view, but I do think we need some changes.
• A short respite came with the country’s independence, but then, in 2014, Vladimir Putin’s aggressions began in Crimea, and carried on afterward in the Donbas.
• It is presented as a “just war” predicated upon Russia’s responsibility to help Russians in need.
• Meanwhile, Indian thinktank Observer Research Foundation's Russia expert, Nandan Unnikrishnan, said India was unlikely to sign "any major military deal" with Russia because it would cross a red line with the US.

As the war rages on, thousands have been killed according to Ukrainian authorities and many more injured. Young Russians tell us about a war few wanted and how the sanctions are affecting their lives. And when it comes to Russian war casualties, Koneva said the losses have been successfully covered up by the country’s strict censorship measures. Koneva said that in June 2023, respondents were asked to send "virtual telegrams to ordinary Ukrainian citizens." “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. https://euronewstop.co.uk/what-will-china-do-if-russia-invades-ukraine.html , researchers say they have tracked just a 9% fall in support for the war last year.

Russians lapped up the real and imaginary threats that were fed to them, and generally assessed military action as justified, defensive, and/or preventative. The educated and the wealthy, many of them urban residents, are fleeing mobilisation. Those with more meagre resources are going to recruiting stations. They may be frightened and apprehensive, and not very keen to fight, but they are not ready to break away from the imaginary “national body” whose will and aspirations are expressed for them by Mr Putin. The fraught nature of their decisions to enlist will increase their hostility toward those who make the opposite choice. The idea may be that the departure of defectors will leave a more faithful nation that will fight and die without hesitation.

The night ends with a 39-year-old man driving a car into the police barriers at Pushkin Square with signs “This is war! For Ukrainians, the looming first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of their country is a historic milestone within an ongoing tragedy of unprovoked bloodshed, one which seems to be escalating again. But the war’s relentless destruction also poses a more existential question, one which fuels an urgent need to resist and prevail. For centuries, Ukrainians have struggled against Russian cultural dominance. A short respite came with the country’s independence, but then, in 2014, Vladimir Putin’s aggressions began in Crimea, and carried on afterward in the Donbas.

• Yet according to the former TA soldier, the idea that the “youth of today” are less sturdy than their predecessors is a myth.
• However, Mr Orban's political director said this morning that Hungary was open to using the EU budget to allow further aid for Ukraine.
• Ukraine will probably try to exploit the success it has had in re-establishing its control over the western Black Sea and its vital trade corridor to the Bosphorus.
• The economy hasn’t been stable for a long time and the sanctions haven’t gone away.
• Ukraine's flirtation with NATO membership pushed those fears into overdrive.

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. The early polls can be treated, like surveys elsewhere, as genuine signals of Russian public opinion. After all, cultural attitudes of nationalism, patriotism, and support for strong leaders remain powerful forces in the world. Many Russian citizens may have no idea of what is happening in their name and judge based only on pictures from Russian state TV. Yet Volkov added that this tolerance, however passive, is likely to remain quite stable, even strong. “If I watched different channels, I would probably have a different opinion, but I don’t watch them,” she said.

Recently, Ukraine's winter offensive seems to have come to a halt. More than ever, the outcome depends on political decisions made miles away from the centre of the conflict - in Washington and in Brussels. The prospects for an end of the war in Ukraine remain bleak. Compared with this time last year, Vladimir Putin is stronger, politically more than militarily. Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2.