Slovak news agency aktuality.sk reports that the research, conducted by the Focus agency throughout February and March, involved 1,000 respondents. The findings show that 41% of Slovaks think Russia is to blame for the war; 20% assign responsibility to Ukraine, and another 31% accuse the West of supposedly "provoking Russia."
Dominika Hajdu from the Globsec Center for Resilience and Democracy asserts that about 25% of Slovaks have "strong pro-Russian sentiments." She added that a portion of the society will never blame Russia for the war against Ukraine.
"Unfortunately, the rest have believed the pro-Kremlin disinformation that claims that the West or Ukraine is to blame for the war, and its spread has been facilitated by a broad range of domestic players—from self-proclaimed alternative media to political actors," said Hajdu.
Read also: Slovaks buck government, reach into own pockets to donate $3 million to Ukraine
In 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, more than half of Slovaks blamed the Russians for the war: 51% of Slovaks believed Russia was responsible for the conflict at the time, compared to 40% in 2023. Similarly, only 16% of the Slovak population considered Ukraine responsible for the war just after it broke out.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Section: Nation
Author: Eric Malinowski
