73% of Russians Believe Military Has Achieved Syria Goals

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 27, 2018)

A state-run poll has shown that nearly three-quarters of surveyed Russians believe their military has achieved its stated goals in Syria.

Russian warplanes have been engaged in air raids in support of the Syrian government against rebels since October 2015. Late last year, President Vladimir Putin declared victory and ordered Russian troops to withdraw from Syria despite ongoing airstrikes.

Of the Russians surveyed by the state-run VTSiOM pollster, 73 percent said the Russian Aerospace Forces have “definitely” or “probably” achieved their objectives.

Some 83 percent Russians above the age of 60 expressed the same view, compared to 61 percent of those surveyed between the ages of 18 and 24.

Nearly half of surveyed Russians said the Kremlin should end the campaign in Syria in a September 2017 poll carried out by the independent Levada Center.

VTsIOM conducted the landline and mobile phone poll among 2,000 adult Russians between Feb. 20 and Feb. 21.