As Poll Finds Ukrainians Want to End War, U.S. Pushes Zelensky to Bomb Russia and Expand Conscription

After more than two years of grinding conflict, Ukrainians are increasingly weary of the war with Russia. In Gallup's latest surveys of Ukraine, conducted in August and October 2024, an average of 52% of Ukrainians would like to see their country negotiate an end to the war as soon as possible. Nearly four in 10 Ukrainians (38%) believe their country should keep fighting until victory.

Ukrainians' current attitudes toward the war represent a decisive shift from where they stood after it began in late February 2022. Surveyed in the months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Ukrainians were defiant, with 73% preferring fighting until victory.

The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives.
Gotta lock in those $Trillions.
Life be damned!!! Imbeciles! https://t.co/ZzfwnhBxRh

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 17, 2024

🇺🇸💬🇺🇦 Jake the Snake Sullivan says that the problem is not that NATO weapons and military industry suck but that that Ukraine doesn't want to feed more people into the meat grinder pic.twitter.com/o7BbW6FwVt

— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) November 19, 2024

President Joe Biden has authorized the provision of antipersonnel land mines to Ukraine, two U.S. officials said, a step that will bolster Kyiv's defenses against advancing Russian troops but has drawn criticism from arms control groups.

The move comes in the wake of the White House’s recent authorization allowing Ukraine to use a powerful long-range missile system to strike inside Russia -- part of a sweep of urgent actions the lame-duck Biden administration is taking to help Kyiv's faltering war effort.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow will retaliate for the latest missile strikes from the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS. Shipping antipersonnel land mines to Ukraine is also potentially controversial, though among a different group: More than 160 countries have signed an international treaty banning their use, noting that the indiscriminate weapons can cause enduring harm to civilians. But Kyiv has sought them since Russia invaded nearly three years ago, and the Kremlin's forces have deployed antipersonnel land mines liberally on the front lines, impeding Ukraine's progress as it seeks to reclaim its own territory.

[...] Biden had been reluctant to supply Ukraine with the mines in the face of concerns within his own administration and from a wide range of anti-mine advocates who say the risk to civilians is unacceptably high. But Russia's battlefield progress in recent months has forced the White House to find fresh ways to help Kyiv, especially following the victory of President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to steer the conflict toward a swift conclusion.