Only one in four Russians support Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, leaked Kremlin study shows
- The leaked investigation was conducted by the Kremlin’s Federal Protection Service
- According to the data, more than half of Russians surveyed also support peace talks
- NATO foreign ministers met to discuss the need for air defense systems in Ukraine
Russian support for Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine has fallen to new lows – with only one in four supporting the war, as it turned out last night.
A leaked survey conducted by the Kremlin’s Federal Defense Service found that only 25 percent of the public supported a continuation of Putin’s so-called “special military operation.”
It comes as British Minister of Foreign Affairs James Cleverly called on the Russian leader to stand trial war crimes.
Kremlin survey data also showed that 55 percent supported peace talks, up from 32 percent in July, the opposition news outlet Meduza reported.
Only one in four Russians support Vladimir Putin’s (pictured) invasion of Ukraine and more than half are in favor of peace talks, a Kremlin study found.
It is the latest in a series of high-profile embarrassments for Russian top executives, after Ukrainian counterattacks saw the invaders rebuffed from towns in the east and most recently Kherson in the south.
NATO foreign ministers met in Bucharest to discuss the need for air defense systems to protect Ukrainian cities from Russian missile attacks.
At the summit, which concluded yesterday, Mr Cleverly said: “There has to be accountability, not just for people on the front lines who are directly committing these things, but all the way down the chain of command to Vladimir Putin himself.”
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly (pictured) attended a summit of NATO foreign ministers in Bucharest to discuss the need for air defense systems to protect Ukrainian cities
The Foreign Secretary said he was “open-minded” about what such a mechanism might look like. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already demanded that the Russian perpetrators be held accountable.
His sentiment prompted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to say the EU would try to convene a UN-backed court to prosecute Russia’s military and political leaders for crimes.
Since the invasion in February, the UK has provided financial assistance and expertise to help prosecutors gather evidence of possible war crimes.
Russian bombing of power plants in Ukraine has left parts of the country in darkness and without heating
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has made a plea for Western Patriot missiles, such as those deployed on the border with Turkey, to defend the country against attacks by armed groups in Syria.
Repeated Russian bombings of power plants across Ukraine have plunged much of the country into darkness and shut off heating.
Poland wants Germany, which owns 12 batteries of missile systems called Patriots, to send the unit it has offered Warsaw to Ukraine instead.
NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said there is “an ongoing discussion” over whether the request will be granted.
But Dmitry Medvedev, a staunch ally of Putin, on Tuesday warned the West against supplying patriots to Kiev, labeling NATO “a criminal entity.”