MOSCOW - Almost half of Russians want President Vladimir Putin to open talks to end the war in Ukraine, according to a survey that found they outnumbered those who wanted to keep fighting, for the first time.

Some 48 per cent of respondents agreed it was time to negotiate a peace deal, with 39 per cent in favour of pressing on with the war, an Oct 21 to 29 telephone poll of 1,611 people by the Russian Field company found.

The proportion favouring talks was the highest since the company, which claims to conduct independent polling paid for by crowdfunding, began monitoring attitudes to the war in April 2022.

Almost three-quarters said they would support Mr Putin if he signed a peace accord tomorrow, a level exceeded only in September 2022 when Russia announced it was drafting 300,000 people to fight in Ukraine, according to the study.

Fear of a future draft also emerged, with 58 per cent saying they opposed a second mobilisation.

The apparent rise in public concern is unlikely to influence Mr Putin, who has said he is willing to engage only in talks that accept “the reality on the ground” of Russia’s seizure of parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.

He has shown no willingness to end the invasion he began in February 2022, even as Russian forces have incurred huge casualties and repeatedly been forced to retreat from occupied territory by Ukrainian troops armed with billions of dollars in weapons from the United States and Nato allies.

With Mr Putin preparing to seek a fifth term in the presidential election scheduled for March, the Kremlin has imposed the harshest crackdown on dissent in decades, jailing opponents and outlawing criticism of the war. BLOOMBERG