Do regular Russians support Putin's war? Moscow residents weigh in

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is being referred to as the most important geopolitical conflict of our time. The West has framed the conflict as an imperial, aggressive conquest of an entirely sovereign nation, by Russia.

Russian proponents explain that the regions in question, Lugansk, Donetsk and the larger Donbass region are ethnically Russian populations under brutal attack by the Ukrainian government. They argue these territories are historically Russian.

What do the Russian people believe? What do they see as patriotic? Do they agree with their government? And if they don’t — will they say so?

“I don’t think it’s right to give territory to another country and then take it back…but that seems to be a controversial opinion,” one young girl in downtown Moscow told me.

A man in Moscow explained to me that he supported the war efforts because he is from Crimea.

“Yes…I support the war…because I’m from Crimea and the Russian people in Donetsk and Lugansk have been patiently waiting through all this craziness with the Kiev regime,” he said. The diversity of opinion in Russia was more colorful than I originally thought it would be. Russian people oppose the war for many reasons and they support the war for many reasons.

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