Ukrainian drone strikes worry Russians more than war itself, polling shows

Independent Russian outlet Agentstvo.Novosti cited the poll in its May 15 report. Eighteen percent of respondents named “Ukrainian shelling” as the most important topic of the previous week, while 16 percent named Russia’s war against Ukraine, the survey showed.

Dr. Vladimir Zvonovsky, a sociologist, said the response “shelling of Russian territory” exceeded the response “the special military operation generally” for the first time since the war began. He published the accompanying chart and diagram.

Attention to the strikes rose in the war’s second year, after drones began reaching Belgorod and later Moscow. In July 2023, between 3 percent and 8 percent of respondents called it the main topic. After the large Belgorod attack in January 2024, 7 percent cited it. Amid a collapse at Moscow airports in early July 2025, 8 percent named strikes as the top topic.

By February 2026 the figure fell to 2 percent, then began to climb again. In mid-April, 6 percent said strikes were the main topic; by late April that figure jumped to 15 percent, compared with 17 percent who cited the war against Ukraine.