War in Ukraine: 34% of Russians support nuclear strike on Ukraine

This is stated in a study published by the sociological institution.

Thus, to the question "whether Russia's use of nuclear weapons during the current conflict in Ukraine can be justified," 10% of respondents answered "definitely can," and another 24% said "rather can."

"Rather not" was answered by 21% of respondents, "definitely not" - 31%.

At the same time, compared to April 2023, the share of those who answered "rather can" increased by 5%, and those who answered "definitely cannot" decreased by 5%.

"Respondents aged 25-39 years, 55 years and older (35%), those who believe that the country is going in the right direction (36%), those who approve of Vladimir Putin's work as president (36%), and those who trust information from television (41%) are most likely to believe that the use of nuclear weapons in the current conflict can be justified," the sociologists said.

Young Russians (63% of those aged 18-24), those who believe that the country is heading in the wrong direction (64%), those who disapprove of the current president (72%) and those who trust information from YouTube channels (55%) are more likely to support the inadmissibility of using nuclear weapons.

• Earlier, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksandr Lytvynenko, said that Putin might decide to use nuclear weapons if Russia is on the verge of a catastrophic defeat.
• On June 20, during a press conference in Vietnam, Putin said that Russia was considering "lowering the threshold" for the use of nuclear weapons in its nuclear doctrine and that a possible future strategic defeat of Russian forces on the battlefield in Ukraine would lead to "the end of Russia's statehood."
• On June 21, in a speech to Russian graduating officers, Putin said that Russia plans to further develop its nuclear triad as a "guarantee of strategic deterrence" and to maintain the balance of power in the world.