"Don't Want to Be a Bullet Sponge" Russian Public Support for War Drops Sharply from 57% to 25%

Sharp Decline in Four Months

A Russian reservist is kissing his wife while embracing her outside the new recruit registration center in Volgograd on September 24 (local time). Photo by AP·Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] A survey has revealed that the proportion of Russian citizens supporting the continuation of the war with Ukraine has sharply dropped to less than half in four months.

On the 30th of last month (local time), the Russian and English news site Meduza reported that it had obtained 'internal' statistical data from the Federal Protective Service (FSO), a Russian security agency, revealing this information.

According to the report, the percentage of Russians in favor of continuing the war with Ukraine plummeted from 57% four months ago to 25% currently. Meanwhile, the proportion of Russians supporting peace negotiations with Ukraine surged from 32% in July to 55% in November.

Analysts suggest that the rapid increase in anti-war sentiment among Russians is due to growing fears of conscription as the war continues. The British daily The Times, citing Meduza’s article, analyzed that after the conscription and reservist mobilization orders, large-scale casualties, and humiliating retreats on the battlefield, public opinion among Russians toward what Putin calls the "special military operation" has worsened.

Regarding the FSO poll results, Meduza pointed out that they are not significantly different from those of an independent polling agency based in Moscow, which showed 27% support for "continuing the war" and 57% support for "peace negotiations."

In this context, Denis Volkov, director of the Levada Center, said that while most Russians supported the Kremlin’s decision to invade Ukraine in February this year, they had no intention of personally participating in the fighting. He explained, "People perceived it as something unrelated to themselves, but now the risk has increased, and they hope peace negotiations will begin."

Meanwhile, The Times reported that after Putin declared a nationwide mobilization order in September, hundreds of thousands of Russian men left the country. According to The Moscow Times, one Russian man who was conscripted in September was sent to the Ukrainian front without proper military training and refused to participate in combat, saying he did not want to be a "bullet sponge." A criminal case against this individual for refusing to fight has been underway since late November, marking the first such case.