Political strategist Mikhail Sheitelman explained that Russians understand negotiations not as a way to achieve peace, but as a way to obtain what they are trying to conquer and have failed to take, Politeka reports.
He spoke about this on his blog.
According to the expert, a Levada Center poll shows that the share of Russians who support continuing military actions in Ukraine has reached a minimum—25%, and among young people only 10%. Nevertheless, he notes, air-raid sirens are still sounding outside, and explosions are still being heard. The reason, the expert explains, is that only 10% of Russians support the war in polls, but in reality the entire country is under air raid alert.
“Russians can endlessly say that according to polls they are all against the war, but we look at the facts. And the facts are that we have no electricity. The facts are that our nuclear power plants have reduced output after Russian strikes. The facts are that half of Ukraine has been subjected to missile attacks. The facts are that there are dead and wounded everywhere, including small children. These are facts. And those are polls,” Mikhail Sheitelman emphasizes.
The expert also notes that one should not think that, according to the Levada Center poll, 25% are for the war and the rest are for peace. No—66% of Russians are in favor of negotiations, meaning that through negotiations they want to get what they failed to conquer. And, naturally, he adds, this poll did not include an option about peace—about the withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied territories, about paying reparations to Ukraine, and about handing over all war criminals.
“Russians equate the word ‘negotiations’ with the word ‘peace,’ with the words ‘against the war.’ That’s not true. It’s a lie. The antonym of the word ‘war’ is the word ‘peace,’ not the word ‘negotiations.’ The antonym of the word ‘war’ is the word ‘peace.’ And peace exists only within the framework of international law. Otherwise, no peace exists. Peace is the withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine, from every square centimeter of Ukrainian territory—from Crimea, from Donbas, from anywhere. That is what is called peace,” Mikhail Sheitelman concluded.
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