Poll: Poles do not believe that Vladimir Putin will stop in Ukraine

Hopes for peace in Ukraine have faded after Sergei Lavrov told NBC News that Moscow has no immediate plans for a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. Donald Trump had previously spoken about such a meeting during a White House summit between Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders. The meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders was expected to address territorial issues, among other things. Only after the bilateral meeting would a trilateral meeting be held between Zelensky, Putin, and Trump take place. During this meeting, the parties would work out the shape of a peace agreement.

Lavrov, explaining why Putin would not meet with Zelensky, pointed out that the Ukrainian leader rejected all demands presented by Vladimir Putin during his meeting with Trump in Alaska. As Reuters reported, these conditions included a Ukrainian withdrawal from the part of Donbas still under Russian control (approximately 12 percent of the Donetsk Oblast), Ukraine's withdrawal from NATO membership, and the rejection of the possibility of stationing Western troops in Ukraine.

Following Lavrov's remarks, Donald Trump gave Zelensky and Putin two weeks to arrange a meeting. If it doesn't happen, Trump hasn't ruled out imposing sanctions or tariffs on Russia, but he also said he might withdraw from attempts to negotiate peace in Ukraine.

The full-scale aggression against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, is Putin's second aggression against this neighbor. In 2014, Russia occupied and illegally annexed Crimea—virtually without a fight—and also supported pro-Russian separatists in Donbas, where two self-proclaimed, internationally unrecognized republics were established.

In 2008, Russia attacked Georgia after Georgia attempted to regain control of the breakaway republic of South Ossetia. As a result of the war, Russia recognized the independence of the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia (which constitute approximately 20 percent of Georgia's territory).

After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, concerns arose that the next target of Russian aggression might be Moldova – a former Soviet republic where approximately 1,500-2,000 Russian troops are already stationed as peacekeepers in the separatist region of Transnistria. Moldova is a neutral country with a small armed force (approximately 8,500 soldiers).

NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General Alexus Grynkewich, recently warned that a global confrontation between the West and Russia and China could occur in 2027. Such a confrontation scenario would involve a Chinese attack on Taiwan and a simultaneous attack by Russia on a NATO country. Bild also reported that German authorities fear Russia attacking one of the Alliance's smaller countries in 2027. The Baltic states are most often mentioned in this context.

We asked the participants of the SW Research survey for rp.pl whether, in their opinion, after concluding peace with Ukraine, Russia would no longer commit aggression against any European country.

14.7% of respondents answered “yes” to this question.

66.8% of respondents answered “no.”

18.5% of respondents have no opinion on this matter.

"Regarding age, people over 50 (70%) are most likely to doubt Russia will cease military action in other countries after concluding peace with Ukraine. This view is shared by seven in ten respondents with higher education, and the same percentage of respondents whose income does not exceed PLN 3,000 net. Regarding place of residence, this opinion is most popular among people from cities with populations between 20,000 and 99,000 (71%)," Wiktoria Maruszczak, senior project manager at SW Research, comments on the survey results.