Russians divided over the attack on Ukraine

For some it is “necessary”, for others it is a source of “regret”: six months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russians are divided, but all hope for a quick end to the war.

“I really feel sorry for the Ukrainians. They are suffering for nothing, they didn’t do anything wrong,” says Dmitry Romanenko, a Muscovite specializing in IT technologies. He is 35 years old and has a tattoo on his neck.

Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine on February 24 turned the lives of many Russians upside down.

Economic sanctions against Moscow have caused the exit of major Western businesses such as Nike and McDonald’s, the closure of airlines – synonymous with partial isolation – and high inflation.

In Moscow, some traces of support for the Russian invasion are visible here and there, such as “Z” stickers on the windshields of some cars.

But in the center of the Russian capital, whose residents are proportionally more liberal than the rest of the country, most respondents expressed criticism or regret.

For Dmitry Romanenko, the entry of Russian troops into Ukraine meant the beginning of economic problems. “All my activity, all my business activities were destroyed. I set up a start-up. All eight of my plans were destroyed.”

“Everyone Suffers”

“It’s clear that everything has changed. Everything is more expensive,” says Valentina Bialik, 83, a retired art historian. “But the most important thing is that we belong to a generation that spent its childhood with war. And it is very sad that our old age is also spent with war.”

“Although we live far from military operations, we feel deep sorrow for the people who die, regardless of nationality,” he says.

“The fact that a great country is now isolated, that the whole world abhors this country… is very bitter for us.”

“We shouldn’t be fighting each other. It’s not good,” says Dmitry Nalivaiko, a 34-year-old waiter, who has a scarf with Russian colors hanging from his backpack.

“Let’s let the politicians clash, not the people who are suffering from all this. Everyone is suffering.”

Despite outrage among some Russians and the fallout from economic sanctions, many support Putin’s decision.

And many turned out in “Z” T-shirts to show that support at a military forum near Moscow last week.

“Everything will be fine”

Walking past a line of tanks, Olga Kosova, a 55-year-old nurse, says Russians have an “obligation” to support pro-Russian Donbas separatists “even at the risk of their lives”.

Ah, adds her 34-year-old son Vladimir Kosov, “our commander was right to send the troops to deal with the Ukrainian ‘nationalists,'” as Russian propaganda describes the Ukrainian leadership.

“I believe that sooner or later it would be necessary. Better a horrible end, than a horror without end,” says Mikhail Nikitin, a 35-year-old IT specialist. “In any case, sooner or later we will win and then everything is better.”

The AFP report did not include a question, especially to those enthusiastic 30-year-old Muscovites who believe in Putin, the obligation to support the pro-Russian separatists of Donbas and the Russian victory, why they have not enlisted to fight on the Ukrainian front.

As Russian forces make no progress and the conflict drags on, those who support the Russian offensive are in no doubt about the final outcome.

“In the end, our people will win and peace will be restored between Russia and Ukraine (…), friendly countries,” believes Nadezhda Josan, a 35-year-old cleaning service manager who often vacationed in Ukraine. “After the operation started, our friends down there called us ‘Moskal’ (Muscovites, Russians) and told us that we have the right to go there. And everything will be fine.”