"Over Half of Russian Citizens Support Peace Negotiations... Oppose Return of Occupied Territories"

78% of Russian Citizens Say "Crimea Should Not Be Returned"
Ukraine-Russia Peace Talks Falter... Territorial Dispute Continues

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Joint survey results from polling agencies in the United States and Russia revealed that more than half of the Russian population desires peace negotiations with Ukraine. However, at the same time, an overwhelming majority of Russians opposed the return of territories occupied in Ukraine, indicating that it will likely take much more time before the groundwork for peace talks between the two countries can be established.

According to CNN on the 14th (local time), a poll conducted from the 24th to the 30th of last month by the U.S. think tank 'Chicago Council on Global Affairs' and Russia's polling specialist agency 'Levada Center' surveyed 1,600 adults across Russia. The results showed that 53% of Russians want peace negotiations with Ukraine. Meanwhile, 41% of respondents said military operations should continue.

When considering the damages caused by the prolonged war, 62% of respondents answered that peace negotiations should begin if Russian soldiers' casualties can be avoided. In contrast, only 31% said the war should continue even if more soldiers are conscripted and face the risk of death.

However, regarding the key condition for a peace agreement demanded by Ukraine?the return of occupied territories?an overwhelming majority of Russians expressed strong opposition. Seventy-eight percent of all respondents said Russia should not return the Crimean Peninsula, annexed in 2014, to Ukraine, and 66% opposed returning the Donbas region (Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts), officially annexed after the invasion of Ukraine in February.

Support for continuing the war remains high. Seventy-four percent of respondents in this survey still support military operations (the invasion) in Ukraine. Among them, 42% said they "definitely support" it, and 32% said they "somewhat support" it. Although this is lower than the 81% recorded in the March survey, many still support the Russian government's war efforts. Fifty-three percent of respondents considered the military operations in Ukraine successful, while only 31% thought they were unsuccessful.

Accordingly, it is expected that more time will be needed to build public opinion for peace negotiations between the two countries. In a poll conducted in Ukraine last September, over 90% of Ukrainians responded that the territories must be returned. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized in a national address last October that "in any peace agreement, the Crimean Peninsula must come under Ukraine's control, and this is the true restoration of peace."

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