As the three experts wrote, "key decisions have to be made this year, the earlier the better, in order to put the war on a more positive trajectory" The failures of the Ukrainian counteroffensive set the stage for renewed Russian offensives in eastern Ukraine, which kicked off in October and focused heavily around the city of Avdiivka While Moscow has suffered heavy losses during its ongoing assault — both in manpower and in armored vehicles — its forces continue to advance, making small territorial gains Russia is pushing in various other sectors of the front as well With fortified defenses though, Ukraine could seriously complicate these efforts As of time of writing, at least 86 journalists, reporters and media figures, mainly from independent outlets, as well as the BBC, had signed a petition condemning Russia’s operation in Ukraine
Russian authorities designated Mediazona as a "foreign agent" in 2021 and blockednbsp;its website in 2022 due to its coverage of the war against Ukraine Images on social media have shown long queues forming at ATMs and money exchanges around the country in recent days, with people worried their bank cards may stop working or that limits will be placed on the amount of cash they can withdraw Yet Volkov added that this tolerance, however passive, is likely to remain quite stable, even strong “If I watched different channels, I would probably have a different opinion, but I don’t watch them,” she said It’s not that she doesn’t know alternative information is out there, but that she doesn’t want it, lest her vision of the world come under threat “It’s not about having to reconsider this one event but everything you thought and understood over the last ten or fifteen years,” Volkov told me
After the forum had ended, I made a visit to Kyiv that coincided with a Russian missile-and-drone barrage that heralded the start of Putin’s extensive campaign on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure People I met in the park wondered whether the statue had been the intended target, or whether the missile had been meant to hit a nearby government installation, and been downed by an air-defense missile On the next block, fragments had struck the façade of a neoclassical building that once housed Ukraine’s first sovereign Congress, during a previous, short-lived attempt at independence, just before the country’s absorption by the Soviet Union The hits on two symbols of Ukrainian sovereignty struck many as not coincidental More than 6,400 Russian have been arrested in anti-war protest in the past week, offering a considerable an overt opposition to Putin’s rule
Volkov adds that public opinion matters, even though the Russian government isn't taking the public's pulse in order to plan its next moves He says officials are instead monitoring the situation to make sure that it's "under control" Russia-based research outfits such as the Levada Center have been able to maintain some independence, but face higher rates of non-response Many ordinary Russians decline to participate in polling for fear of government retribution—and those who do are likely to indicate higher levels of support for Putin for the same reason, Botchkovar says Additionally, data suggests that up to 30 of Russians say they’re not closely following the situation in Ukraine, she says But the problem with measuring public opinion in a country under authoritarian rule and censorship, Botchkovar says, is that the data are highly imperfect
But the war has helped set new records - at one point on Monday a dollar cost 113 roubles and a euro, 127 "There are no dollars, no roubles - nothing Well, there are roubles but I am not interested in them," said Anton name changed, who is in his late 20s and was queuing at an ATM in Moscow On Monday Russia more than doubled its interest rate to 20 in response to the sanctions after the rouble plunged to record new lows
But when things opened up in the 1990s, he says, his field exploded "During that time, lots of data became available from the Russian permafrost regions," he remembers International scientists started collaborating with Russian scientists to investigate how permafrost was changing On top of that, western scientists no longer have access to field sites in Russia, he says Instead, they have to rely on what they can see from space, from satellite images of beaver dams "You can do a lot from space, but you need to have some boots on the ground confirming what you're seeing," Tape explains
The economy hasn’t been stable for a long time and the sanctions haven’t gone away Travel is hard – you can’t go anywhere with a Russian passport Many Western brands leaving Russia have paved the way for young entrepreneurs and new, high-quality Russian brands are thriving On Russian state television, the invasion was framed as a defensive mission aimed at preserving Russian lives However strange or cynical it sounds, it’s actually humane because it allows everyone around to prevent a large massacre
I haven’t lived with my parents for many years, but even if I did, I wouldn’t argue with them, because it’s their business what to think Where I am, people typically express their opinion at rallies, on social networks and among their inner circle Usually, people will spread the word about protests secretly But everyone who wants to participate can easily find out about it For example, in certain online communities, they’ll just post a single number indicating a date and everyone understands everything But I don’t feel safe expressing my opinion, especially when I talk about it online or on the phone
We write about it on social networks, sign petitions, send money, go to rallies, but so far this hasn’t yielded any results, the government only hits us with a truncheon Examples of Yugoslavia and Libya, two states bombed by NATO forces, are used to drive fears that Russia may be next The day before the start of the war, Putin told the nation of WWII-era promises not to expand NATO eastward and said those promises had been broken five times Ukraine's flirtation with NATO membership pushed those fears into overdrive It’s 9 pm in Moscow and the police have already broken up the bulk of the protests Since anyone with anti-war signs is arrested immediately, protesters casually stroll along until a large enough crowd gathers to shout their opposition to what's going on in Ukraine
I really cannot understand why Russians don’t have the right to eat in McDonald’s Of course, that may be a strange example, but I just mean those of us who are against war still suffer from it It’s hard to differentiate global problems from everyday ones, as you can see
While the defence alliance, Nato, and the US warn of an imminent invasion, many people are still unconvinced that war will happen or that it would be to Russia's advantage But ordinary Russians, many of whom get their information from state-controlled television which repeats many of the Kremlin's lines, are expected to start noticing differences to their lives soon Standing at one queue in Moscow, Evgeny name changed, 45, said he wanted to withdraw money to pay off his mortgage "I also couldn't pay in a shop today - for the same reason"
In the meantime, sanctions affect every Russian citizen in their daily lives – both those who support and those who oppose the war, those at home and those abroad Until October this year, journalists were able to identify the names of 34,857 Russian military personnel who were killed fighting in Ukraine These figures were published by the BBC's Russian-language service, which tracks Russian fatalities with the independent Russian media project Mediazona and a team of volunteers using publicly available sources
And as Russia's war in Ukraine continues, the US and other Western allies are hitting it with more economic sanctions Volkov found that some 80 of respondents do support the military, but that group is by no means a monolith He says about 50 have "definite support" without any qualms, but the other 30 have support with reservations