BERLIN, December 1./TASS/. Europeans continue to support Ukraine, but they are no longer that eager to support weapons supplies to Kiev, suggests an opinion poll by the Bertelsmann Foundation carried out among 13,000 citizens of 27 European nations.
"The overwhelming majority of Europeans are still in favor of Ukraine’s EU entry. Their readiness to receive refugees remains high. However, the number of people who approve of weapons supplies is declining in all EU countries," the authors of the survey write.
As many as 57% of the surveyed German nationals supported military aid in March, while in September, when the opinion poll was carried out, the figure declined to 48%. In France, the numbers were 67% and 54% respectively, while in Spain approval went down to 57% from 66%. Poland shows the highest level of support for arms deliveries to Ukraine (76%), while the Italians are the least enthusiastic (36%). Overall, half of Europeans consider military assistance necessary, which is six percentage points less than in March.
A majority of Europeans, 67%, also spoke in favor of less energy dependence on Russia despite the rise in prices. In March, this figure was 74%.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a special military operation in Ukraine following a request for assistance from the leaders of the Donbass republics. After that, the US, the EU, the UK, as well as a number of other countries imposed sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities. In addition, Western countries began to persistently supply arms and military equipment to Kiev worth billions of dollars.