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The Economist: 54% of the international community wants Ukraine to win the war with Russia

Author:
Oleksandra Amru
Date:

The majority of the world community — 54% — claims that they would like to see Ukraine win the war with Russia. At the same time, 20% are in favor of the Russian Federation.

This is evidenced by a survey conducted by the Globescan consulting company for The Economist.

The survey was conducted in July and August among 30 thousand people from 29 countries of the world, as well as from Hong Kong. The survey covered the major advanced economies and the largest developing countries, excluding China.

Respondents were asked three questions:

Support for Ukraine was greater in 25 out of 30 countries. The strongest solidarity was in Europe, as well as in South Korea and Japan. However, surprisingly, support was also strong in Brazil, Mexico and South Africa, whose governments are more pro-Putin. In particular, Brazil is working with the PRC to promote peace talks, while South Africaʼs ruling party has close ties to the Kremlin. Communist-run Hong Kong was strongly pro-Ukrainian.

Instead, Russia was supported in such countries as Egypt, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. One explanation for the position of India and Vietnam may be that they partly rely on arms from Russia and have historical ties dating back to the Cold War.

In Saudi Arabia, which is hoping for a new military pact with Kyivʼs main ally, the United States, 37% of respondents want Russia to win, while only 19% support Ukraine. And in Egypt, which this year receives $1.3 billion in defense aid from the US, Russia is supported by 49% against 30% of those who support Ukraine. All five countries that support the Russian Federation are also seeking a second Trump presidency.

As for the US election, the results show broad support for the Democratic Party among the global community, and that there is a significant cohort of admirers of Republican candidate Donald Trump outside the States.

Among all countries polled, an average of 45% supported the Democratic Party, whose current candidate is Kamala Harris, while an average of 33% preferred Trump.

In particular, in Europe, 55% preferred the Democrats, and only 26% favored Trump.

Despite his nativist politics, Trump has strong support around the world, particularly among young people. However, candidates from both parties in the US, according to the poll, had almost equal support. Among respondents aged 25 to 34, 40% would like to see Kamala Harris as the next US president, while 38% would prefer Trump. Across all age groups, Trump led the polls in Argentina, Egypt, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Vietnam. Such a position of these countries can be explained, in particular, by disappointment with the policy of the Biden administration towards the Middle East, as well as by the usual sympathy for the "strong man" in power — this is exactly the image that Trump has been cultivating for years.

The last question was about who people want to see as the world leader — the US or China. On average, 59% of respondents said they preferred the United States as the worldʼs leading power, while China was chosen by only 22% of respondents.

The US support was surprisingly strong in the countries of the Global South. Thus, in India, 79% of respondents spoke in favour of the United States. The majority of the population of the five surveyed Latin American countries also supported the USA. Three African countries — Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa — also have a pro-American position.

Instead, the people of one of Americaʼs allies, Turkey, preferred Chinaʼs global leadership. At the same time, the population of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, whose power to some extent relies on military ties with America, as it turned out, mostly aspires to the hegemony of China.

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