Ukraine: What do Russians think about the war?

For the first time in three years, there’s talk of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Negotiations are ongoing, but at the time of recording this programme, the conflict continues.

We’ve heard many times from Ukrainians expressing their thoughts on the war – most recently in February in our episode Ukraine: Three Years of War.

It’s been harder to find Russians who are happy to speak to Western journalists. But we’ve brought together three groups of ordinary Russian citizens to share their views and experiences. None are directly involved in the war, but everyone is affected by it in some way. And everyone has strong opinions.

“I think it's much better if this special military operation finishes with Russia's absolute victory, because these territories, they do not belong to Ukraine,” says Valentina, a translator who lives in Moscow.

Alexander, an artist, disagrees strongly. “I think she's just watching too much Russian TV, because this oppression of Russian people on Ukrainian territories only happened on Russian TV, and all people who try to receive information from different sources know that.”

Three younger Russians, all in their 20s, discuss how comfortable they feel speaking out against the war, aware that the authorities have dealt harshly with other protesters. Nika (26) is a social media coordinator. “How it works in Russia right now is there are two opinions. There is the Russian government's opinions, and then there is any other wrong ones. So even if you would have straight up fact-checked facts that are not aligned with the narrative that the government is currently pushing, you're in trouble.”

Presenter: Mark Lowen
BBC producers: Iqra Farooq and Kira Fomenko
Boffin Media producer: Anne McNaught

An EcoAudio certified Boffin Media production in partnership with the BBC OS team

(Photo: People wait at a bus stop displaying an advert for military conscription in Moscow. Credit: Yuri Kochetkov/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)