War in Ukraine, live: Russian defense minister warns of “uncontrollable escalation” – Le Monde

The attitude of Russian society vis-à-vis the “special operation” in Ukraine is more the absence of resistance or opposition than real support, explained in an interview with Le Monde, the sociologist Russian Lev Goudkov, scientific director of the Levada Center, the last independent polling institute in Russia, classified as a “foreign agent” by the authorities. According to him, the “special operation” arouses contrasting feelings. “There is certainly pride, satisfaction, but also, at the same level and often in the same people, negative emotions: shock, confusion, depression, despair, shame… This indicates significant dissatisfaction, even bad awareness, and also a very clear awareness that Vladimir Putin’s blitzkrieg has failed,” he said. “Only 10% of respondents say they feel responsible for what is happening in Ukraine. For a large part of Russians, politics, like war today, is a field that has nothing to do with them”, specifies the sociologist. When it comes to war, hawks and aggressive patriots exist. You see them on television, you can read their comments on the Internet – where they rejoice at the bombardments of Ukrainian cities… The propaganda tries to make it look like they are the majority, but it is a core that does not represent no more than 6% or 8% of the population, mainly retirees, which may expand on occasion. The majority, it can adhere to certain propaganda speeches, but aspire to a peaceful life, without shock. (…) When the mobilization was announced [le 21 septembre], the reality appeared. The failure has become evident, and we are already seeing a further rise in negative feelings: fear, confusion… The percentage of people who say they feel proud about the “special operation” has fallen from 51% to 20% . To find out more, you can read the full interview.