Most Russians View the US and NATO as the Root Cause of the Conflict

The majority of Russian citizens view the United States (US) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as the cause of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

This was found in a report by the independent Russian survey agency, the Yuri Levada Analytical Center.

The Yuri Levada Analytical Center conducted face-to-face interviews with approximately 1,600 Russian citizens between November 25 and December 1, 2021. All respondents were over 18 years old and spread across 50 Russian regions.

The survey results show that 50% of respondents considered the US and NATO member states to be the main cause of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

16% of respondents considered the conflict to be caused by Ukraine, while 6% viewed the separatist groups in Donetsk and Luhansk as the root of the problem.

Only 4% of respondents considered Russia to be the cause of this geopolitical conflict. 11% stated that the conflict was caused by various parties, 15% could not answer, and the remaining 2% gave other responses.

Looking back, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has long historical roots. Since the early 1990s, these two successor states of the Soviet Union have repeatedly experienced friction due to differing economic and political views.

Russia sought to restore solidarity among the former Soviet republics, while Ukraine chose to move closer to Western countries.

(See also: Arrests of journalists in Russia have been steadily increasing since 2014)