Today at 17:01
Russian public interest in ending the war against Ukraine appears to be growing, according to a new assessment by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), UATV English reports.
Citing the Russian independent outlet Meduza, ISW said that Yandex’s Wordstat search analytics service recorded more than 137,000 searches related to when Russia would end the war between June 22 and June 28. The figure marks the highest weekly total since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
According to Meduza, a significant share of the searches originated from the Moscow region, St. Petersburg, and the Leningrad region—areas where the Kremlin has concentrated air defense systems but has largely failed to shield against Ukrainian long-range strikes.
The report also noted that searches about ending the war have increased for a second consecutive week. The previous peak occurred between June 1 and June 7, following Ukrainian strikes near St. Petersburg during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
ISW also cited a June 19–21 poll conducted by the Kremlin-linked Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), which showed President Vladimir Putin’s approval rating falling from 74% to 69% between June 12 and June 21, shortly after Ukraine’s largest drone attack on the Moscow region. Weekly FOM surveys indicate that confidence in Putin has been steadily declining since February 2026.
The think tank noted that while the Kremlin likely retains political influence over state-run polling, it is significant that even FOM is acknowledging growing public dissatisfaction after more than four years of Russia’s full-scale war.
“Putin has devoted significant effort to shielding major cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg from the consequences of his war in Ukraine, but recent statistics suggest that the Russian public appears increasingly weary of Russia’s military campaign—likely because the Kremlin has largely failed to insulate its constituents from the effects of the war,” ISW concluded.
