‘Very few’ Russians oppose Ukraine operation – Kremlin
The vast majority of people in Russia agree with Moscow’s policies with regard to Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told the media, adding that the number of those who oppose it should not be exaggerated.
In a fragment from an interview with the newspaper Argumenty i Fakty published on Tuesday, Peskov claimed that “almost everyone in Russia” agrees with the president’s position on Ukraine and insisted that those who are against it are merely “a splinter of society.”
Peskov dismissed the idea that there is any sort of considerable “gap” in society between supporters and opponents of the Kremlin’s policies, pointing to the recent presidential election in which the incumbent, Vladimir Putin, won over 87% of the vote.
“The numbers with which Putin won are unprecedented,” the spokesman said, calling the results “a global phenomenon, with such a high turnout.”
Peskov noted that society “cannot be 100% monolithic,” and that there will always be people who disagree with the government’s positions.
He added, however, that it is important to differentiate between those who stayed in Russia despite not supporting the Kremlin’s policies, and those who left the country and “literally took the position of an enemy of their country.”
These people, though few in number, “will not be welcome here, they will not be accepted,” Peskov said, recalling Putin’s warning that “traitors who take up arms to fight [against Russia] must be destroyed, because they are now our enemies.”
As for those who chose to stay in the country despite disagreeing with the Kremlin, Peskov said they may “understand everything in time,” suggesting that the Kremlin should try to convince them that “Putin is right.”
The Russian presidential election took place earlier this month, from March 15 to 17. According to Russia’s Central Election Commission, around 76.2 million people took part. Putin won by a landslide, securing his fifth term in office.
While Putin’s victory was condemned by a number of Western officials, with the US claiming that the vote was “neither free nor fair,” the president said he did not expect them to “stand up in applause,” as “they are fighting against us, including with arms.”
