Half of Germans support West's reliance on military power to counter Russian aggression

Half of Germans believe that the West should not be afraid to use military force to persuade Russia to behave less aggressively.

According to the Politbarometer survey by ZDF, 50% of those surveyed believe that the West can use military force to persuade Russia to act less aggressively, including the majority of supporters of all main political parties, namely the Social-Democratic Party, the Union, the Greens and the Free Democratic Party.

At the same time, 35% believe that political concessions to Russia are more effective, including the majority of supporters of Alternative for Germany and the Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance.

While a good half of those polled in the former West Germany (53%) approve of relying on military force, only a third (35%) in the former GDR feel the same way. 49% of those polled in former East Germany favour political concessions, as opposed to 31% in the west.

Compared to January, the number of Germans who believe that European countries should increase the supply of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine has also increased.

The survey was conducted by telephone from 20 to 22 February with 1,294 respondents.

Two years after the start of the full-scale war, almost half of Poles believe that it will end in the destruction of both Ukraine and Russia.

In addition, support for Ukraine among Europeans remains broad, but only 10% believe that it can defeat Russia.