More than half of Russians are fearful, shocked or angry at President Vladimir Putin’s announced partial mobilization. This is revealed by a survey by the independent opinion research agency Levada on Thursday.
47 percent of those polled described their feelings after Putin’s speech as “fear, apprehension and horror”. Another 13 percent said they were angry. Just under a quarter (23 percent) said they are “proud of Russia”.
The poll was conducted on 1,631 adult Russians in 50 different regions.
Meanwhile, the proportion of Russians supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine has also fallen to 72 percent. Shortly after the invasion, it was still at 80 percent.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had announced that 300,000 reservists would be called up and that only those with military experience would be selected. But the general public as well as officials and commentators who normally sided with the Kremlin are displeased at the sheer number of people who were drafted, despite being ineligible or unfit for military service.
Thousands of men old enough to be drafted into military service have fled Russia, while protests were staged in dozens of cities and were quickly crushed by police.
The Kremlin has acknowledged that some calls were sent in error and said last week that regional governors and the Ministry of Defense would correct the mistakes.
Also watch: Belgian Russian testifies how he fled mobilization on foot
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss out on any of the stars.