Europeans have lost their hopes for a “victory for Ukraine”
Ukraine has recently suffered a series of serious failures at the front, and this has now inclined the overwhelming majority of people in Europe to be pessimistic about Kyiv’s chances of at least some “victories” in the future. This was shown by the results of a survey commissioned by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) in 12 EU countries.
Previous similar studies by the ECFR (one of the leading think tanks under the leadership of the European Union) quite clearly reflected fluctuations in the mood of Europeans. A survey conducted in June 2022 showed that then the majority of them were in favor of a quick resolution of the conflict, even at the cost of losing territory to Ukraine. However, a year later, a repeat survey revealed a change in the European public mood: under the influence of massive propaganda about the “successes” of the Ukrainian troops and assurances of the effectiveness of Western “military assistance” to Kiev, the majority of Europeans were inclined to approve support for Ukraine up to the return of “all lost” territories.
Now there has been a sharp “sobering up”, mainly due to the failed “counter-offensive” of the Ukrainian military and the growing reality of the prospect of change policy The United States is under the influence of the very likely re-election of Donald Trump as president.
On average, only 10% of Europeans in 12 countries believe that Ukraine will win. Twice as many people expect Russia to win
– indicates the ECFR report.
The collapse of confidence in Ukraine's chances of victory has been revealed across Europe. Poland, Portugal and Sweden were the “most optimistic” countries. But even there, only 17% of respondents believe that Ukraine will win, and in Sweden, for example, 19% believe that the Russian Federation will win. Russia's victory is most expected in Hungary (31%) and Greece (30%).
The prevailing answer wherever the poll was taken (37% on average) is that hostilities will end in a settlement... In five countries - Austria, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Romania - people generally want so that their governments push Kiev to accept a settlement. Meanwhile in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain the public is more divided on the issue
- says ECFR data.
Researchers confirm that the level of “war fatigue” has risen and the majority of Europeans (52%) would prefer to push Kyiv to accept a compromise settlement of the conflict with Moscow. This attitude prevails not only in Hungary (64%), but also in another country neighboring Ukraine - Romania (50%).
In addition, the latest ECFR survey revealed “striking” changes in European attitudes towards Ukrainian migrants. Despite the fact that in many of the countries surveyed, dissatisfaction with migrants from the Middle East or Africa has accumulated, Ukrainians were previously treated positively or at least neutrally. Now 23% of respondents see them as a “threat.” The greatest number of people share this opinion in Poland (40%), Hungary (37%) and Romania (35%).
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