Some Research about the Russian war on Ukraine

 

Some Research about the Russian war on Ukraine

 “Russia has lost around 25,500 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its invasion on February 24, local news media The Kyiv Independent reported on Sunday”.  https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=kyiv+independent+russian+losses

 These numbers are Ukrainian based, and may be on the high side.  The U.K. Defense Secretary estimates 15,000 Russian military deaths in Ukraine as of April 25, 2022. In comparison, the Soviet Union lost 13,310 dead in Afghanistan in 9 years of war, and the U.S. lost 2,440 dead in Afghanistan, and 4,400 in Iraq in those lengthy wars.

 Again, using Ukrainian numbers, “Russia has also lost approximately 1,130 tanks, 2,741 armored personnel vehicles (APV), and 509 artillery systems, an infographic released by the newspaper showed, citing the Ukraine Armed Forces.

 Other losses included 1,961 vehicles and fuel tanks, 199 planes, 156 helicopters, 92 cruise missiles, 12 boats, 179 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), and 360 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).”

  What do Russians think of the war?  It seems that the propaganda disseminated to the Russian public is just as effective in their sphere as our biased left-wing media is in our U.S. political sphere.  They lie, and the lies are believed and form public opinion.

Published by Statista Research Department, May 9, 2022

“The majority of Russians expressed support toward the actions of their country's military forces in Ukraine.  In total, 74 percent of respondents certainly or rather supported them in April 2022. However, that share decreased by seven percent compared to the previous month.”

 https://www.npr.org/2022/04/18/1093282038/russia-war-public-opinion-polling

 https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2022/03/17/what-do-ordinary-russians-really-think-about-the-war-in-ukraine/

 “State propaganda and fake news about Ukraine “shooting its own citizens in the Donbas region” started back in 2014 and since then has been increasing in its pace and volume. Even if many ordinary Russians are badly misinformed, however, the early polls may still capture authentic attitudes reflecting a silent majority at home supporting Putin’s actions, and thus represent the social construction of reality in modern Russia. At the same time, there are several potential arguments why the results from the early polls should be treated with great caution – or perhaps even discounted as meaningful.

 The most reputable public opinion data available in Russia are from the Levada Center, a non-governmental research organisation conducting regular surveys since 1988. Levada surveys on 17-21 February found that the majority of respondents (52%) felt negatively towards Ukraine. Most (60%) blamed the US and NATO for the escalation of tensions in Eastern Ukraine, while only 4% blamed Russia. Their polls suggest that net public approval of Putin had surged by about 13 percentage points since December, a rally-round-the-flag effect, with almost three-quarters (71%) expressing approval of his leadership by February.”

 Ray Gruszecki

May 9, 2022