Half of Russians back an immediate withdrawal of their troops from Ukraine, even if that means Russia does not achieve any of the goals set out by President Vladimir Putin.
The shock new poll from independent Russian pollster Chronicles shows that Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia’s southwestern Kursk region has sparked a domestic crisis for President Putin.
The war, which started more than two and a half years ago when Russia invaded Ukraine, is frustrating many ordinary Russians.
The poll, conducted with independent pollster’s ExtremeScan, found that 49 percent of Russians backed withdrawing Russian troops and starting immediate 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.
Aleksei Miniailo, a Russian politician and co-founder of Chronicles told Newsweek, that Russians were beginning to doubt the Kremlin’s propaganda.
He said: “The longer the war drags on, the less people have faith that it will end in a beneficial way for them and for Russia.”
Mr Miniailo said that Russians were more supportive of the war when the momentum was with them, such as in spring this year when Moscow’s troops were advancing in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
However, this came to a grinding halt on August 6 when Ukrainian forces crossed into Russian territory.
The pollster and politician said: “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.
“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.”
A majority of those surveyed (63 percent) want a peace treaty with Ukraine with mutual compromises to be concluded in the coming year.
There is also fading appetite for sending more Russians into the war, with less than a third (29 percent) backing a new wave of Russian mobilisation.
Ukraine’s obliteration of Russian military warehouses is also raising eyebrows inside Russia.
The Chief of the Intelligence Center of the Estonian Defense Forces said that attacks on a single arms depot this week destroyed three months of ammunition stockpiles for the Russian army.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Russia tried and failed to launch its mega missile, the RS-28 Sarmat, or the Satan II.
The ICBM exploded inside its silo and created a huge crater which destroyed the entire test site zone.
