Independent surveys find Russians' support for the war has declined

According to recent polls conducted by the independent projects Russian Field and Chronicles, the number of people in favor of continuing the war in Ukraine has declined.

The polls indicate that support for the war was at its peak in March–April, and that by the start of fall, it had begun gradually declining. The poll conducted in September by Russian Field found that the share of Russians who support the war had fallen from 25 percent to 16 percent, while the share of Russians in favor of "peace" had risen slightly, from 23 percent to 27 percent. The majority of Russians said that they trusted their country’s leadership and would support either a new offensive or a cessation of hostilities.

The project Re:Russia, which reported the poll results, noted that the groups most critical of the war were women, young people, and people with low incomes earners.

According to Russian Field, only half of self-professed war supporters said they believed the war was necessary. The poll conducted by Chronicle found that about a third of pro-war Russians said they would be willing to contribute one way or another, such as by donating money to the army.

According to polls conducted by Russia’s Public Opinion Foundation, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, and the independent Levada Center, about 70–80 percent of Russians support the war in Ukraine, the annexation of Ukrainian territories, and President Vladimir Putin.

Given Russia’s military censorship and repressive government policies, surveys conducted in the country cannot be considered fully reliable.