​Half of Romanians believe that Europe should “push” Ukraine to negotiate a peace deal with Russia, and more than a third believe that Ukrainian refugees pose a threat to Romania, according to a survey conducted in 12 European countries. European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).

The survey, conducted in January, gathered responses from approximately 17,000 people from Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Hungary.

This shows that the defeat suffered by the Ukrainian army last summer during the summer offensive and the subsequent events have seriously shaken the confidence in the victory of the Ukrainians at the front. Only 10% of respondents answered that they expect Ukraine to be able to win the war on the ground.

In Romania, the percentage is 9%, while 18% of Romanians polled for the poll say Russia will win and another 37% believe Moscow and Kyiv will reach a negotiated settlement.

A significant percentage of Romanians and Hungarians claim that Ukraine should be “pushed” to peace talks with Russia

The most pessimistic Europeans regarding the possibility of Ukraine’s victory in the war are the Greeks, only 2% of respondents gave a positive answer, and the Hungarians (4%). Instead, 31% of Hungarians and 30% of Greeks said they expected Russia to end the conflict victoriously.

When asked what Europe should do more broadly about the war, 50% of Romanian respondents said Ukraine should be “pushed” into a negotiated peace agreement. The percentage of respondents who answered yes is higher only in 3 countries where the survey was conducted: Italy (52%), Greece (59%) and Hungary (64%).

Only 21% of Romanian respondents said that Ukraine should support the return of its territories occupied by the Russian army. In Italy, this percentage is 18%, and in Greece and Hungary – 16%.

Instead, the poll shows that Ukraine is currently most supported by residents of Sweden, France and Portugal, who answered 50%, 48% and 47%, respectively, that Europe should support Kyiv to return the lost territories.

Among Europeans, Romanians are most concerned about Ukrainian refugees

But despite strong support for returning the territory to Ukraine, the poll also shows that Poles are the most worried Europeans are about Ukrainian refugees, with 40 percent saying they are more of a threat than an opportunity for their country.

In Hungary, this percentage is 37%, and in Romania – 35%. In Sweden, known for decades as a refugee- and migrant-friendly country, this percentage is only 10%, while 52% of Swedes say that Ukrainian refugees represent an opportunity for their country.

Respondents from the Scandinavian countries are followed by respondents from Portugal (35%), Spain (34%), the Netherlands and Austria (33%) and Germany (31%).

Only 13% of Romanians polled for the ECFR survey said that Ukrainian refugees represent an opportunity, the lowest percentage among the 12 countries surveyed. This percentage is less than 20% in only two other countries, Greece (16%) and Hungary (19%).

Although Poles are the Europeans most concerned about refugees arriving from Ukraine, the poll shows that 27% of them still say they represent an opportunity for their country.

The survey was released almost two years after the start of the Russian invasion and at a time when Ukraine is feeling discontent with Russia, which has been rekindled by the decline in Kyiv’s support from the West..

The survey can be viewed on the ECFR website.