Leaked Kremlin polls reveal crumbling support for Ukraine war

Leaked polling by the Kremlin has found public support for Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine is crumbling as the Russian people turn on their leader.

President Putin is facing dwindling support for his ongoing war with Ukraine as the Russian people turn on their leader.

The number of Russians in favour of continuing the war in Ukraine has fallen dramatically, with just one in four now supporting the conflict, according to leaked Kremlin opinion polls.

In July, 57 per cent of respondents said they wanted to see Russian troops remain in Ukraine. That figure has now fallen to 25 per cent. Support for negotiations to end the nine-month conflict has risen from 32 per cent to 55 per cent.

The results of the polls, which were carried out by the Kremlin’s Federal Guard Service, were obtained by Meduza, a Russian opposition website. The presidential administration regularly carries out research into public opinion for the exclusive use of President Putin and other senior officials.

The slump in support for what Putin calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine comes after a wildly unpopular draft, massive military casualties and series of humiliating setbacks on the battlefield. Suspected Ukrainian shelling has also killed a number of people in Russian border towns, according to pro-Kremlin officials.

Just 25 per cent of Russian people want their soldiers to remain fighting in a revealing poll leaked from the Kremlin.

Denis Volkov, head of the Levada Centre, an independent polling group, said that while most Russians still supported the Kremlin’s decision to invade Ukraine in February, they had no desire to take part in the fighting themselves. “People perceived this as something that did not concern them. Now the risks have grown and people want [peace] talks to begin.”

Hundreds of thousands of Russian men fled the country after Putin announced nationwide mobilisation in September. There is also growing discontent within the armed forces. The first criminal case - against a conscripted soldier who refused to fight in Ukraine - was launched last week. Soldiers who refuse to follow orders can face up to three years in prison.

Yuri Degtyarev, who was arrested at a military base in Russia’s Belgorod region, had refused to be “cannon fodder,” his wife, Tatiana, told opposition media. She said he had been drafted in September and sent to eastern Ukraine with “no combat experience” and “no proper military training”.

Putin attempted last week to counter rising discontent by meeting with the mothers of Russian soldiers at the Kremlin. A number of the women, some in mourning for their sons, were identified as members of Kremlin-loyal organisations. In televised comments, Putin told the mothers that it was better for their sons to die in Ukraine than “from vodka”.

More than 15,000 people were arrested at anti-war rallies in Russia in February and March, but there have been no large-scale protests since the Kremlin launched a ruthless crackdown on dissent.