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A recent survey by the European Council on Foreign Relations found a nearly even split on how people want to see the Ukraine War ultimately resolved.
The poll included residents from 10 countries and showed that 35 percent of Europeans find themselves in the “peace camp,” which means they want a swift resolution to the war and return to some form of normalcy.
There were about 8,000 people polled.
About 22 percent of those polled wanted Russia to pay for the invasion and believe the country deserves some form of punishment. These individuals also believe Ukraine is entitled to take back all of the land lost during the conflict.
Political scientists believe that the longer the war drags on and the more pain felt by the average European his opinions may change over time. Poland had the highest number of residents who say they want Russia to be punished for the war, while Italians, Germans, and Romanians want a peaceful resolution.
The survey found that for all countries, other than Poland, the “Peace” camp is larger than the “Justice” camp.
The survey also showed that Italy has the highest number of people who believe Ukraine, the EU, or the U.S. are responsible for the war. (See “AMERICAN MEDIA: WARMONGERS WELCOME, PEACEMAKERS BANNED” and “THE MASTERS OF WAR, AT WAR WITH RUSSIA.”)
The ECFR said the poll suggests that the public opinion in Europe could be shifting and “that the toughest days may lie ahead.”
“The resilience of European democracies will mostly depend on the capacity of governments to sustain public support for policies that will ultimately bring pain to different social groups,” the ECFR said. “This will force governments to balance the pursuit of European unity behind pressure on Moscow with opinions that diverge both inside and among member states.”
Polling found that 90 percent of the Finns who were polled blamed Russia for the war while just 56 percent of Italians blamed Moscow.
TRENDS FORECAST: The longer the Ukraine War drags on, the more Europeans will begin to question the wisdom of endless support for Ukraine and crippling sanctions that hurt them more than their target: Russia.
Western European countries are working to fill up underground storage facilities with natural gas in time to meet the fall and winter demand. Alexei Miller, the Gazprom CEO, said last week that Russia will play by its own rules after the firm cut its supplies to Germany by half, CNBC reported.
“Our product, our rules. We don’t play by rules we didn’t create,” Miller said.