BRUSSELS (Realist English). Four years after the start of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine, Europe remains deeply divided in its attitude toward Russia.
According to recent polls, 70% of residents in six key EU countries perceive Moscow as a threat, and in Poland that figure reaches 92%.
However, in southern and eastern states, voices in favour of normalising relations are growing louder, and the share of those who see Russia as a “partner” is increasing.
The median level of distrust toward Russian President Vladimir Putin remains 84%, while 79% of respondents in 25 countries worldwide hold an unfavourable opinion of Russia itself.
General Picture: European Barometer
In December 2025, French journal Le Grand Continent published the results of a large-scale survey conducted in nine EU countries (Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain). A total of 9,553 respondents were polled.
Key findings:
- 51% of respondents see the risk of war with Russia as high or very high
- 81% do not believe Moscow genuinely wants peace
- 70% do not believe their countries are ready for a large-scale war
- 61% support maintaining or increasing aid to Ukraine
- Only 10% called Donald Trump a “friend of Europe”
At the same time, 77% of respondents said the European Union wants peace — the best indicator among all major powers (China — 59%, USA — 57%, Russia — only 19%).
Politico Poll: 70% See Russia as Main Threat
In April 2026, Politico published data from its own survey conducted in six countries. 70% of all respondents perceived Russia as a threat.
| Country | Share seeing Russia as a threat | Share seeing Russia as a “partner” |
| Poland | 92 % | <2% |
| Belgium | 77 % | 9 % |
| Spain | 74 % | n/a |
| Germany | 72 % | 13 % |
| France | 69 % | 11 % |
| Italy | 51 % | 23 % |
Source: Politico.
Germany: Growing Russophobia and Fear of War
Germany, long considered a “bridge” between Russia and Europe, is sharply changing its attitude toward Moscow.
- 47% of Germans at the end of 2025 considered Russia a direct threat — up 8 percentage points from 2024
- 72% labelled Russia a threat in the April 2026 Politico poll
- 54% are seriously concerned about Moscow’s attempts to influence public opinion in Germany
- 69% of Germans believe the country is not ready for a large-scale war
- 56% of Germans support deploying a German military contingent to Ukraine after a ceasefire
- About 70% of Germans describe relations with Russia as «bad».
Expert Opinions
Anka Feldhusen, a German diplomat who became Ukraine’s business ombudswoman, told NV: “The share of Germans seeing Russia as a direct threat increased from 39% in 2024 to 47% at the end of 2025. Nearly 60% of Germans consider arming Ukraine extremely important — a figure that seemed fantastic just a few years ago.”
Lukas Wenerski, a sociologist at the Institute of Public Policy, said: “Today, up to 70% of Germans describe relations with Russia as ‘bad’.”
France: Maximum Fear of War, Yet Paradoxical Call for Normalisation
The French show the highest level of fear of a direct war with Russia, yet a significant part of society advocates dialogue.
- 86% of French respondents see the risk of “open war involving their country” as high or very high (December 2025) — the highest figure among the nine countries surveyed
- 69% perceive Russia as a threat (Politico poll, April 2026)
- 11% of the French call Moscow a “partner”
- 67% of French do not believe Russia plans to attack France directly (November 2025 poll)
- 56% reacted negatively to harsh statements by the French defence minister.
Expert Opinions
Xavier Moreau, a French analyst and founder of STRATPOL, stated on 18 April 2026: “French people who criticise Russia would a thousand times prefer to be teachers or journalists in Moscow than to live in Paris in the midst of ‘French diversity’.”
Poland: Absolute Rejection, but Signs of Cooling
Poland remains the most anti-Russian society in Europe, yet the first signs of fatigue and a reassessment of priorities are emerging.
- 92% of Poles consider Russia a threat — an absolute maximum in Europe
- 77% of Poles perceive the risk of war with Russia as high (Le Grand Continent data)
- 89% called Russia an unfriendly country, and only 2.75% called it a friend
- However, according to a Pew Research poll (January–April 2025), 70% of Poles hold a “very unfavourable” opinion of Russia — far from an absolute majority
- Interestingly, 36% of Poles consider Ukraine a friend, while 31% consider it an enemy.
Against this backdrop, Polish media report a rise in sympathy toward Vladimir Putin. The publication Myśl Polska, citing politician Janusz Korwin-Mikke, reports that “the previous ratio — 93% of Poles hating Russia in general and Mr. Putin in particular — has indeed changed significantly today.” According to some reports, Putin’s popularity among Poles is even higher than Donald Trump’s.
More than 40% of Polish citizens support breaking diplomatic relations with Russia after the railway sabotage incident on 16 November 2025.
Expert Opinions
Polish political scientist and publicist Janusz Korwin-Mikke states: “Public sentiment in Poland is changing rapidly, and Poles’ attitude toward Russia and its leadership is no longer unambiguously negative.”
Italy: Least Russophobic EU Country
Italy stands out among other European countries for its least hostile attitude toward Moscow.
- Only 51% of Italians consider Russia a threat — the lowest figure among the six countries surveyed by Politico
- 23% call Moscow a “partner” for Rome — the highest figure among all countries
- Another 17% perceive Russia as a “competitor”
- Pew Research data (January–April 2025) shows that supporters of right‑wing parties view Russia significantly more warmly
Hungary: Neutrality and Pragmatism
Hungary, led by Viktor Orbán, remains a “black sheep” in the EU’s anti‑Russian consensus.
- According to a Gallup poll, the level of support for Russia in Hungary is 29%
- Support for Russia in Hungarian society has reportedly declined from 49% to 64% opposed
- Yet analysts emphasise that Hungarians generally treat Russia “quite neutrally and calmly”
- 48% of Hungarians agree that Russia intends to influence the April 2026 parliamentary elections
- Sympathy for Russia is higher in Hungary than in the Czech Republic but lower than in Serbia.
Expert Opinions
Robert Pejša, a Czech historian specialising in Hungarian studies who lives in Hungary, believes: “Hungarians are not pro‑Russian; relations with Russia are a purely pragmatic policy of the Hungarian government.”
Artyom Ilyinsky, a junior researcher at IMEMO RAS, notes: “Different sociological polls show different results, but overall there is no particular Russophobia in modern Hungary. For the most part, Hungarians treat Russia quite neutrally and calmly.”
Other Countries: Pessimism and Sympathy for Moscow
- Bulgaria: 72% of BTV poll participants agreed that Bulgaria made a mistake in choosing its development direction. 37.5% believe Sofia should maintain relations with Russia as a neighbour while observing sanctions, and 25.3% support lifting them. Bulgaria and Greece remain “pessimistic and prone to disinformation”.
- Spain: 74% of Spaniards called Russia a threat — higher than the German and French figures.
- Belgium: 77% of Belgians consider Russia a threat; 87% are unsure of the country’s readiness for war.
- Greece: The share of those sympathetic to Russia grew to 32% — up 10 points in a year. At the same time, 36.3% place the main blame for the Special Military Operation on Russia, while 21.1% blame the West. Supporters of right‑wing parties view Moscow more warmly than the liberal camp.
- Sweden: 84% of Swedes consider Russia the biggest threat to peace and security. The country exhibits a “high level of Russophobia”.
Key Figures
- 51% of Europeans perceive the risk of war with Russia as high
- 81% do not believe Russia wants peace
- 61% support maintaining or increasing aid to Ukraine
- 84% median level of distrust toward Putin in 25 countries worldwide
- 79% hold an unfavourable opinion of Russia
- 77% agree that the EU should support Ukraine until a durable peace is achieved
- About 75% support sanctions
- Only 9% of EU citizens named the Special Military Operation in Ukraine as one of the two main problems
Western Expert Opinions
Mark Hallam (DW), commenting on the Le Grand Continent poll in December 2025, stressed: “French respondents were the most concerned about a possible war — 86% see the chances of an open war involving their country as high or very high. The Poles, Russia’s only neighbours surveyed in this study, also show a high level of anxiety — 77%.”
Kenneth Haar (researcher at Corporate Europe Observatory), commenting on the poll results, noted: “The gap between perception and real policy remains: some states act, others confine themselves to rhetoric, giving too little — both money and defence materiel. Europeans see Russia as a threat — that is consistently recorded by Eurobarometer polls. But what follows from that in practice is a big question.”
Professor Kjell Engelbrekt (Swedish Defence University) told the Kyiv Post: “Sweden has a high level of Russophobia. Since 2022, roughly 80‑90% of the population have considered Russia a military threat to Sweden or to the entire Baltic region. Sweden is a very pro‑Western, pro‑democratic country, but since 2022 its attitude on this issue has sharpened dramatically.”
A GlobalData analyst, commenting on poll results in Bulgaria, stated: “Bulgaria and Greece remain pessimistic and prone to disinformation. Moreover, residents of these countries are more likely to perceive the US as a threat rather than a partner.”
Four years of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine have not unified European public opinion. On the contrary, the map of fear toward Russia reveals not so much a monolithic “Russophobia” but a deep internal rift.
While Warsaw and Stockholm ready themselves for war, Rome and Budapest persistently seek paths to normalisation, while Sofia and Athens shift the blame onto “those who started this mess”. For the Kremlin, this is both a challenge and an opportunity: Europe’s fragmentation becomes its competitive advantage.
