Independent survey finds record number of Russians want peace talks

For the first time since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, the share of Russians who want their government to enter into peace talks with Ukraine is larger than the share of those who want the war to continue, according to a new survey from the independent research group Russian Field.

According to the findings, about 48 percent of respondents said they believe Russia should begin peace talks, while 39 percent want the war to continue. The respondents most likely to support the war’s continuation were financially secure men over 45 years old.

At the same time, 74 percent of respondents said they would support a decision by the president to sign a peace treaty “as soon as tomorrow.” The only time this figure was higher was immediately after the start of Russia’s mobilization drive in fall 2022.

The respondents who favor a peace agreement have varying ideas of what that agreement should look like. The largest group (10 percent) said they simply want a “return to peacetime and an end to the bloodshed.” Six percent of respondents said they would demand a surrender from Ukraine, while three percent support a return to the borders of 1991.

More than half (56 percent) of respondents said they believe the war is currently going well for Russia, while 25 percent said Russia is not succeeding on the battlefield.