Defense Majority do not want to increase military spending because of the war in Ukraine

A majority in Switzerland is against an increase in military spending due to the war in Ukraine. However, twelve percent would be in favor of sending Swiss soldiers on combat missions there. This was revealed by a survey in 15 European countries.

54% of respondents are against an increase in the Swiss defense budget due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the ongoing war there, while 23% are in favor. This was the result of a survey by the Berlin-based think tank European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), which was published on Wednesday.

73% of those surveyed in Switzerland are convinced that their country is not at war with Russia - in contrast to 13% who are of this opinion.

The fact that Europe should urge Ukraine and Russia to reach a peace agreement was favored by 42% of respondents in Switzerland, compared to only 29% who favored supporting Ukraine so that it can continue its defensive struggle against Russia.

However, 35% are still in favor of Switzerland providing technical support to the Ukrainian military, while 29% could imagine Swiss soldiers being deployed to patrol Ukraine's borders.

Ukrainians believe in victory over Russia

In Ukraine, 69% of respondents believe that more arms and ammunition supplies from the West in particular will enable their country to defend itself against Russian aggression. And a clear majority still want this - 58% continue to believe in a Ukrainian victory over Russia. A compromise in the sense of peace for land or loss of sovereignty for peace is rejected by a solid Ukrainian majority.

The survey by the Berlin think tank was conducted in the first half of May this year and involved 1079 over-18s in Switzerland. It was conducted by the Datapraxis and YouGov institutes.

SDA