According to a Levada Center survey, in August 28% of respondents were collecting money or items for participants in the war in Ukraine. That is 14 percentage points less than in September last year, when the figure was 42%, and almost a record low for the past four years: only December 2022 was lower — 27%.
By November 2023, the share of such respondents had risen to 40% and then remained roughly at that level in 2024–2025. The decline is most visible in large cities: in Moscow, 16% of respondents were collecting money or items for the military, compared with 32% a year earlier, and in cities with populations of around 500,000 — 17% versus 33%.
In settlements with populations of up to 100,000, the figure fell from 49% to 35%, and in villages — from 50% to 35%. The Levada Center survey was conducted from August 18 to 28 among 1,600 adult residents of 137 settlements in 50 regions of Russia.
Pro-war Telegram channels had previously complained about declining aid volumes due to war fatigue, in particular Belarusian Silovik, as well as pro-war blogger Kirill Fyodorov. Natalia Winner, a representative of the Tenderness in Hearts foundation, also spoke of a “significant decline” in fundraising, while the military themselves claimed that far from all collected aid reaches the front.
Against this backdrop, 81% of Russians in a survey by the Russian Institute of Conflictology and Analysis of Russia (IKAR) said they were ready to support ending the war “as early as tomorrow” — the highest figure since the start of the invasion. Since 2023, the share of such respondents has been 72–75%, while supporters of continuing the war until “total victory” have become fewer: 9% compared with 13% earlier.
Sources
