Europeans support Ukraine but divided on how to end war: study

WARSAW: Europeans remain largely supportive of Ukraine as it struggles to hold off Russia´s forces and favour increasing arms shipments to Kyiv, but are more divided on how to end the war, according to a poll published on Wednesday.

Russia has been making some advances in Ukraine against Kyiv´s weakened and outgunned forces, with Moscow regularly claiming the capture of more eastern villages.

The gains followed months of delays in new US funding for Ukraine linked to protests by right-wing members of the US Congress. European Parliament elections in June meanwhile saw a shift to the right among voters.

“Ukraine´s determination to fight and European support for arming Ukraine have not been affected by Russian advances on the battlefield,” the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) said in a new survey.

This report was based on public opinion polls conducted across 15 European countries, including Ukraine, and relied on feedback from nearly 20,000 respondents.

“In most countries, a majority (or, at least, a significant plurality) of citizens supports the idea of increasing the supply of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine,” the council noted.

And while support for Ukraine´s fight against Russia remained mostly steady across Europe, most respondents were more lacklustre about Kyiv´s chances of winning.

“In short, Ukrainians want weapons in order to win, while most Europeans send weapons hoping this will help lead to an acceptable eventual settlement,” said the report.

Kyiv has long insisted on regaining all of the territory seized by Russia as a prerequisite for ending the war.

The vast majority of Ukrainians remain opposed to the idea of ceding territories to Russia in exchange for NATO membership, according to the report.

“The prevailing view in most countries (except for Estonia) is that the conflict will conclude with a compromise settlement,” ECFR noted.