Majority of Indians follow Russia-Ukraine war, but against New Delhi’s military involvement, says survey

The majority of Indians in urban regions are in favour of India continuing diplomatic ties with Russia and taking in refugees, but reject India’s military involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to a global survey.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, in what is termed a “military intervention”. The war, which has stretched on for over two months, has resulted in numerous Western sanctions on Kremlin.

Globally, the survey found that while 82% of the respondents believe that the war impacts the world, only 37% felt it impacts their jobs, 34% their families and 36% felt the war impacts them personally. However, 72% of the Indian respondents said the war impacts India greatly, with 61% believing that it impacts their jobs and businesses, 52% believing that it affects their families, and 56% believing that it impacts them personally.

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Amit Adarkar, CEO of Ipsos India, said in a press statement that this could be because of the rising inflation. “India is seeing the impact in terms of rising fuel prices, impacting household budgets,” he said.

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The conclusions are as per a global survey by research company Ipsos spanning 27 countries, conducted between March 25 and April 3 among 500 adults aged 18 and above in urban India. The precision of Ipsos online polls is calculated using a credibility interval, with a poll of 500 accurate to +/- 5.0 percentage points.

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As for India’s stance on the war, 62% of Indian respondents said they want India to continue diplomatic ties with Russia, and 77% believe that military action could only worsen the situation.

Since the start of the war, New Delhi has called for peace talks and an end to the violence. However, it has continued the purchase of oil from Moscow and has not yet criticised Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. India has also abstained from multiple votes at the UN platforms in condemning the Russian aggression.