Limited faith in Ukraine's victory against Russia, Europeans push for compromise: Survey

The survey findings are derived from the report titled "Wars and Elections: How European leaders can maintain public support for Ukraine", released by the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Participants in the survey were from 12 European countries, including Poland. The initial question concerned the "most likely outcome of the war between Ukraine and Russia".

Upon collating responses from the dozen countries, on average, merely 10 per cent of participants predicted "Ukraine's victory". In the view of 37 per cent of respondents, a "compromise" between the two countries will ensue, whereas 20 per cent believe that "Russia will come out on top".

A total of 12 per cent of participants didn't select any of the aforementioned options, and 22 per cent responded with "I don't know/I have no opinion".

The greatest optimists regarding a Russian victory hail from Poland, Sweden, and Portugal (with 17 per cent each giving the response "Ukraine triumphs").

Conversely, the majority of those supporting "Ukraine's compromise with Russia" is found in southern Europe (Greece - 47 per cent, Spain - 44 per cent, Italy - 43 per cent).

The largest demographic fearful of a Russian triumph resides in Hungary (31 per cent), Greece (30 per cent), and Spain (21 per cent).

The enquiry also asked, "What measures should Europe undertake regarding the Ukraine conflict?".

Considering responses across the same 12 countries, on average, 31 per cent of Europeans feel that "Europe should back Ukraine in recapturing territories occupied by Russia". The most avid proponents of this approach are found in Poland (50 per cent), Sweden (48 per cent), and Portugal (47 per cent).

Then again, 41 per cent of respondents are of the belief that "Europe should steer Ukraine towards negotiating a peace accord with Russia" (Greece - 64 per cent, Hungary - 59 per cent, Italy - 52 per cent).

Altogether, 11 per cent of Europeans didn't endorse any of the provided solutions, and 17 per cent responded with "I don't know/it's hard to say".

- A majority of Europeans decidedly wish to deter a Russian victory but harbour doubts that Kyiv can triumph militarily - remarks Mark Leonard, co-author of the study.

Source: "Gazeta Wyborcza"