Half of Russians Want Putin To Withdraw Troops From Ukraine

Nearly half of Russians back the withdrawal of their troops from Ukraine without achieving the goals of President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion, according to a new poll.

Independent Russian pollster Chronicles said that Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region on August 6 had dented morale among the population about the war started by Moscow more than two-and-a-half years ago.

“The longer the war drags on, the less people have faith that it will end in a beneficial way for them and for Russia,” Aleksei Miniailo, a Russian opposition politician and co-founder of Chronicles told Newsweek.

Putin’s goals for what the Kremlin calls a “special military operation” are ambiguous but broadly involve the weakening or disrupting Ukraine’s ties with NATO, curbing Ukrainian nationalism and expanding territorial gains.

The survey, conducted with independent pollster’s ExtremeScan found that 49 percent of Russians backed withdrawing Russian troops and peace talks with Ukraine even if the aims of the war had not been met. This is an increase of 9 percentage points from the 40 percent who were in favor of such a move in January 2024.

One third (33 percent) of respondents would not support a withdrawal under those terms—down from 39 percent in January—according to the survey of 800 people between September 10 and 17, which had a margin of error of 3.45 percent.

Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment.

Miniailo said that Russians tend to express more support when Russia has more success, such as in the spring when Moscow’s troops were advancing in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

“The Ukrainian invasion into the Kursk region was a shocking thing for many and decreased the number of those who want to fight till the goals are reached,” he said.

The poll also found that a majority (63 percent) would like a peace treaty with Ukraine with mutual concessions to be concluded in the coming year.

The poll, which comes on the second anniversary of Putin declaring a partial mobilization in Russia, which was initially seen as botched, also found a growing reluctance among Russians to take part in the war. Less than a third (29 percent) said they would support a new wave of Russian mobilization.

State polling in Russia is not considered particularly accurate, especially given the clampdown on dissent since the start of the war. Chronicles says its polls take into consideration the answers to a series of questions and so provide a more accurate snapshot of public opinion.

Miniailo said that ExtremeScan research found that polling in the border regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and well as the Kursk regions when there is shelling by Ukrainian forces, found that declared support for the war goes up due to a rally-around-the-flag effect.

“But when people face the consequences directly, for example when they have to leave the territory to escape or their house gets hit or they are witnesses to an attack— declared support sharply goes down.”

“The majority of those who declare support are people who have absolutely never faced anything due to the war. Once people start to feel that war is coming to them, be it economy or something like that, they lose their faith.”