Opinion Poll: 47% of Romanians Think War in Ukraine Ends in 2023

The most recent survey related to Romanians’ interest in the situation in Ukraine reflects a significant increase in concern for war among the Romanian population.

Despite a substantial decrease in interest in news about the Ukraine conflict in August compared to the earlier months of the conflict, war apprehension nearly doubled.

According to the poll conducted by IRES (The Romanian Institute of Evaluation and Strategy), the fear of war is growing among Romanians. In August, 30% indicated they were terrified of war, up from 19% in March, only a few days after Russia invaded Ukraine, and another 13% said they were worried, uneasy, or anxious about the subject.

We are in the phase of permanent uncertainty regarding the fate of this war. The second reason is related to the lack of a time horizon for its conclusion, and even if we notice (in August vs. March, ed.) a decrease in interest in the events there, this does not mean that the excitement is necessarily decreasing. And this is against the background of the entry into the equation of the Zaporizhzhia plant and the fear of the risk of a nuclear accident that would also affect Romania. All this talk invoking a possible incident increases the fear.

Dan Jurcan, The Research Director of IRES

On the other hand, compared to February, the fear of a potential Russian invasion in Romania is declining, falling from 70% to 61% in August.

Romanians are not overly hopeful about how long the war will last. 47% predict it will last the following year, 17% believe it will last five years, and only 29% think it will be over by the end of 2022.

Additionally, according to the IRES data, 31% of those surveyed think Russia has justifications for launching the war, compared to 65% who think the contrary.

In the opinion of sociologists, the percentage of 31 is interesting because the influence of the speeches on certain news televisions that question NATO’s argumentation can be observed. 80% of Romanians get their news information from television. Therefore, it represents one of the strongest media influences that can change opinions or shape them.