More Than 60% of Russians Want War to End, Zelensky Says

More than 60% of Russians want the war against Ukraine to end, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.

Speaking remotely at the Reuters Next summit, Zelensky said he discussed the war, Russia’s military losses, the state of the Russian economy, long-range weapons, and prospects for future negotiations during meetings with leaders at the G7 summit in France.

He argued the situation is driven by growing casualties and the absence of meaningful battlefield gains.

“The good news is that Putin must stop this war,” Zelensky said. “I have unanimous support from all EU leaders and presidents on this issue. We agreed that Russia is not winning, it is losing many people, and it should reach an agreement as soon as possible.”

According to Zelensky, the initiative in the war no longer belongs to Moscow.

Zelensky said growing losses are beginning to change attitudes within Russia, even as members of Putin’s inner circle continue to push for another large-scale mobilization.

“There is a large percentage of Russians who understand this,” Zelensky said. “They are beginning to realize that they are not winning this war, and that is exactly why it should be stopped.”

He added that public support for ending the conflict is high.

“More than 60% of Russian society wants to stop this war. That is why we need more pressure on Putin,” Zelensky said.

While welcoming the shift in public opinion, Zelensky questioned the motivations behind it.

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“I am not sure this is truly a humanitarian reason, because if you have huge losses, then the war should be stopped,” he said.

Zelensky argued that increasing political, economic, and military pressure on Russia remains the most effective way to force the Kremlin toward meaningful negotiations.

Putin’s declining rating

In April, Putin’s approval rating fell to 65.6%, its lowest level since before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to data from Russia’s state-run Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM).

The figure is down 4.5 percentage points since late March and more than 12 points lower than at the end of last year.

The decline coincides with Russia’s first economic contraction since 2023 and growing public frustration over Kremlin efforts to tighten control over the internet under its so-called “sovereign internet” policy.

Although Putin’s ratings remain high by Western standards, polling in Russia is often viewed with caution because of state censorship, and analysts said the current drop resembles a sharp decline in public support.

Notably, this was also seen in 2018 after the Kremlin announced a controversial increase in retirement age.