Ukrainians support country’s fight, US leadership
A strong majority of Ukrainians want to keep fighting Russia’s invasion amid both battleground triumphs and deadly strikes on their homeland – and they’ve set a high bar for victory, according to a Gallup survey released Tuesday.
Seven out of 10 Ukrainians surveyed in September said their country should continue fighting until they win, according to the survey. About one quarter preferred negotiating an end to the fighting as soon as possible.
They were even more united when asked what would have to happen for Ukraine to declare it won the war. Nine out of 10 defined victory as regaining all lost territory since 2014, including Crimea. Men were more likely than women to want to fight until the war is won. Support for continued fighting was stronger in regions farthest from the ground war and weaker closer to the action.
The survey was conducted as a stunningly successful Ukrainian military counteroffensive reclaimed thousands of miles of occupied territory last month but before Russia’s recent retaliatory attacks.
Among the other findings:
- 94% have confidence in Ukraine’s military.
- 85% approve of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s job performance.
- 66% approve of U.S. leadership.
- 54% approve of NATO leadership’s job performance.
- less than 0.5% approve of Russia’s leadership
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Other developments:
►A funeral was held Tuesday for Col. Oleksiy Telizhenko, who was abducted from his Bucha home by Russian soldiers in March. Six months later his body was found with signals of torture buried in a forest not far away from his village.
►German authorities crossed the “red line” with arms supplies to Kyiv, given the country’s historical attacks on Russia, Kremlin envoy to Germany Sergey Nechayev said in an interview with TASS. Germany, Denmark and Norway this month announced plans to supply Ukraine with 16 armored howitzer artillery systems.
►The death toll from Monday’s drone blitz on Kyiv rose to five when rescuers found the body of an elderly woman.
Kremlin deflects queries on use of Iranian drones
The Kremlin declined to confirm that the Russian military is using Iranian drones in its attacks on Ukraine.
“Russian equipment with Russian names is being used,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday in a conference call with reporters.
The Iranian Shahed drones, often called “suicide drones” because they slam into targets and explode, reportedly have been rebranded Geran-2 by Russia and used to carry out strikes across Ukraine.
30% of Ukrainian power stations destroyed in a week, Zelenskyy says
Two people in Kyiv were killed Tuesday in the latest Russian missile attack to target the nation’s energy facilities. Tuesday’s strike left 50,000 people in Kyiv without power, according to Antonina Antosha, spokesperson for the DTEK group that operates of the battered plant. Explosions were heard in the eastern city of Kharkiv, in its industrial area south of the city center.
“Since Oct 10, 30% of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed, causing massive blackouts across the country,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted. “No space left for negotiations with Putin’s regime.”
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Contributing: The Associated Press