Leaked Kremlin poll shows 55% of Russians want to see negotiations with Ukraine to end the war: report
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A leaked Kremlin poll found 55% of Russians want talks to end the war in Ukraine, per Meduza.
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The poll also found just a quarter of Russians support continuing the war.
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The war has been devastating to Russia's military and economy.
Support for the war in Ukraine has reportedly plunged within Russia, per leaked internal polling data commissioned by the Kremlin and obtained by the independent, Latvia-based outlet Meduza.
The survey, conducted by Russia's Federal Protective Service (FSO), found that 55% of Russians favor peace talks with Ukraine. This represents a massive shift from an FSO poll in July that found just 32% of Russians favored talks, according to Meduza's reporting. The polling, which Meduza said was designated by the Kremlin for "internal use only," also showed a major drop in support for the continuing the war among Russians between July (57%) and November (25%).
Meduza noted that FSO's polling did not waver significantly from publicly available data from the independent Levada Center, which conducted a survey that found 57% of Russians on some level supported beginning negotiations with Ukraine. Meanwhile, Levada found only 27% expressed support for continuing the war.
Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has been devastating to the Russian military and seen Moscow isolated both economically and politically, but publicly criticizing the war that the Kremlin insists is merely a "special military operation" could land Russians behind bars.
Last month, the top US general said Russia is estimated to have suffered roughly 100,000 casualties in the war thus far — an astonishing number in less than a year of fighting. Russian President Vladimir Putin in September ordered a partial mobilization to address the Russian military's manpower problems, a move that was met with pushback among the Russian public and saw many men flee the country. In short, the mobilization has not gone well.
The war also led the US and its allies to slap unprecedented sanctions on Russia. In November, Russia's economy fell into a recession.
On top of the massive combat losses and the crippling economic sanctions, Russian forces have been pushed into retreat as Ukraine vies to recapture conquered territory. Ukraine has regained control of approximately 55% of the territory occupied by Russia following the invasion, according to a recent assessment from the New York Times.
