About half of the respondents follow the Ukrainian events. The level of support for the actions of the Russian armed forces remains high. At the same time, half of the respondents support the idea of peace talks, this figure has slightly decreased compared to November last year. The majority of Russians still believe that the military action will last for a long time: almost half are sure that it will take more than a year. Three quarters believe that the military actions will end with a victory for Russia. On the issue of a possible escalation of the situation into an armed conflict between Russia and NATO, opinions in society today are equally divided, but six months ago such a conflict seemed more likely. About a third of the respondents believe that people like them are morally responsible for what is happening, and this distribution of responses has been maintained for a year and a half. Two thirds of Russians agree that Russia is paying too high a price for participating in a special military operation, but the majority of respondents do not consider its beginning a mistake.

In January, 20% of respondents said they were following the events “very closely”, and another 34% were following the situation around Ukraine “quite closely”. At the same time, 35% of respondents follow without much attention or do not follow at all (14%). The level of attention to Ukrainian events has not changed significantly in the last three months.

People aged 65 and older are following the events in Ukraine most closely – 75% (35% – very closely, 38% quite closely).

The level of support for the actions of Russian troops in Ukraine has remained consistently high since the beginning of the conflict. The majority of respondents (77%) support the actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, 16% of respondents do not support them, and another 8% find it difficult to answer.

Older age groups (81% of respondents aged 55 and older), those who trust information from television (88%), those who believe that things in the country are going in the right direction (89%), who approve of the activities of V. Putin as president (84%) are more likely to voice their support for the actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. . 

The level of support for the actions of Russian troops is lower among younger age groups (61% under the age of 24); viewers of YouTube channels (64%); those who believe that the country is moving on the wrong path (43%); those who disapprove of the actions of V. Putin as president of Russia (31%).

At the same time, as in previous months (with the exception of May 2023), there are more supporters of the transition to peace negotiations than supporters of the continuation of hostilities: 52% against 40%. In December-January (compared to November 2023), the number of supporters of peace talks decreased slightly (from 57% to 52%), but generally fits into the annual average of this indicator.

Women (58%), young people (60% under the age of 24), residents of villages and towns with a population of up to 100,000 people (57% and 55% respectively), those who trust information from telegram channels (58%) demonstrate the need to move to peace negotiations more often than others and YouTube channels (61%) do not approve of the activities of V. Putin as President of the Russian Federation (68%), believe that the country is moving along the wrong path (74%), respondents with lower-secondary education (75%).

Men (49%), respondents 55 years and older (48%), those who trust information from television (49%) and those who approve of the president’s activities (43%), as well as Muscovites (56%) and respondents with higher education are more likely to believe that military operations should continue education (43%).

A third of Russians believe that people like them bear moral responsibility for the deaths of civilians and destruction in Ukraine (10% certainly do, 21% do to some extent), 62% of respondents hold the opposite position. This distribution of responses has been stable and has been maintained over the past year and a half. Viewers of YouTube channels (45%), those who believe that the country is moving on the wrong path (42%), are more inclined to feel moral responsibility for the deaths of civilians and destruction in Ukraine.

Russians also remain confident that military operations in Ukraine will go on for a long time. Thus, almost half of the respondents (45%) believe that military operations will last more than a year, another 23% assume that from six months to a year. A year ago, in January 2023, 43% and 25% thought so, respectively; in May 2022, when this question was asked for the first time, 21% and 23%, respectively.

Russians have no unequivocal confidence in the possibility of the situation in Ukraine escalating into an armed conflict between Russia and NATO, opinions are equally divided. However, compared to June last year, the share of respondents who believe that the situation in Ukraine could lead to a clash with NATO has decreased, now 44% of respondents (a decrease of 16%).

The majority of respondents (77%) believe that military operations in Ukraine will end with Russia’s victory, which is 6% more than a year ago and roughly corresponds to the mood of May 2022. At the same time, 14% of respondents today believe that neither side will be able to prevail. Less than 1% of respondents speak about Ukraine’s victory today.

The opinion that military operations will end with a victory for Russia is more widespread among older age groups (82% of respondents 55 years and older), television viewers (88%), residents of villages and cities with a population of up to 100,000 people (80% and 82%, respectively), who believe that things are in the country they are going in the right direction (85%) who approve of V. Putin’s activities. Putin as president (83%).

It is more often said that neither side will be able to prevail, respondents under the age of 24, residents of Moscow (19% each), those who believe that the country is moving along the wrong path (33%), those who disapprove of the activities of the President of the Russian Federation (42%) and those those who trust information from YouTube channels (24%).

Two thirds of Russians (66%) agree that Russia pays too high a price for participating in a special military operation, and one in four respondents (25%) disagree with this statement. Most often the respondents agreed with this statement in July 2023 (then 82% in total), in six months this figure decreased by 16 percentage points.

The opinion about Russia’s high payment for participation in a special military operation is more often shared by women (71%), those who barely have enough for food (69%), who believe that the country is moving along the wrong path (75%). The opposite opinion is mostly shared by men (33%), those who can afford durable goods (31%), who believe that things in the country are going in the right direction (29%).

Two thirds of Russians (64%) do not believe that Russia made a mistake by launching a special military operation in Ukraine, while this figure has grown smoothly by 6 percentage points compared to September last year.

About 22% of respondents consider the launch of the Special Military Operation a mistake. Respondents who disapprove of the policy of the President of Russia (55%) and viewers of YouTube channels (40%) think so more often than others.