The Share Of Russians Who Want The War To Continue Has Fallen To 25%
- 22.12.2025, 20:50
Survey.
The share of Russians who believe it is necessary to continue the war in Ukraine dropped to 25 percent in December. At the same time, two thirds of respondents are in favor of a transition to peace talks, according to a December poll by the Levada Center. According to the survey, in December, 66% of respondents said that Russia should now move to peace talks. Compared to October, this figure increased by 4 percentage points and repeated the maximum values previously recorded in August. The share of supporters of continuing hostilities, on the contrary, decreased by 5 points, reaching the lowest value for the entire period of measurements, reports The Moscow Times.
Support for peace talks is more common among women, respondents under 40, people living in rural areas, those who believe the country is on the wrong track, disapprove of Vladimir Putin's performance as president, and those who trust social media as a source of information. Supporters of the continuation of the war are more often represented among men, people over 55 years old, residents of Moscow, respondents who believe that things in the country are going in the right direction, who approve of Putin's activity and who are mainly oriented to television.
Interest in what is happening around Ukraine remained relatively stable in December. 49% of respondents were following the situation very or fairly closely, 33% were not paying much attention, and 18% were not following at all, which is 8 percentage points more than in May 2025. A higher level of attention is characteristic of men, older people, residents of small towns, Putin supporters, and those for whom television is the main source of information. Women, young people under 25, Muscovites, and respondents who do not approve of Putin's activities and who are oriented to Telegram channels were less likely to follow the events.
Half of respondents, 51%, do not believe that Washington's attempts to achieve a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine will be successful. The opposite opinion is held by 28% of respondents. Younger respondents and residents of medium-sized cities, as well as those who believe that things are going in the right direction in the country, are more likely to believe in the possibility of success of the U.S. efforts. Skepticism about the prospects for a peace agreement is more often expressed by older people, residents of Moscow and those who assess the situation in the country negatively.
The Levada Center's nationwide survey was conducted from December 11 to 19, 2025, using a representative sample of urban and rural residents. The survey involved 1,618 people aged 18 and older from 137 localities in 50 subjects of the Russian Federation.