(Moscow) “Let peace reign”: in Moscow, several residents met in the city center of the Russian capital at the start of the new year confided their “hope” that the conflict in Ukraine would end, so that “stability » returns to their country.
Posted at 8:53 a.m.
For almost three years, the Russian army has attacked neighboring Ukraine, a conflict which has left hundreds of thousands dead or injured, civilians and soldiers alike. The Kremlin also suppressed all voices opposed to the assault by its troops.
While speculation about peace talks in 2025 has been rife for several weeks, fighting remains fierce along the front line, which stretches some 1,000 kilometers.
Russian forces attacked Kyiv again during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, killing at least one person according to Ukrainian authorities.
“My dearest wish for all Russians is that the war ends, that peace reigns in our country, that everyone is happy,” said Svetlana Khodtchenkova, a 47-year-old teacher met by AFP in the center -city of Moscow.
She claims to want “prosperity” for Russia, hit by heavy Western sanctions since 2022, and whose economy, largely oriented towards military production, has shown signs of running out of steam in recent weeks.
Viktor Abramov, a 51-year-old welder, agrees: “We hope that peace will come next year.” “I think most Russians have the same hopes as me. That’s the most important thing,” he adds.
For “stability”
In these testimonies, however, no mention is made of wanting to retreat in the face of Ukraine or of giving up the areas occupied by Moscow, i.e. nearly 20% of Ukrainian territory, to obtain an end to the fighting.
Georgy Maïssouradzé, a 52-year-old worker, also says he wants an end to the conflict, while supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin, in power for 25 years.
“He’s a good man!” Without him, Russia would be on its knees,” he thinks.
He shows his T-shirt emblazoned with the Soviet hammer and sickle symbol.
“We were born under the Soviet Union. And I want Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin to unite these 15 countries again and for this state to be the strongest in the world,” he says.
At a time when uncertainty reigns in the West over the sustainability of American support for Kyiv with the return to the White House of Donald Trump from January 20, the master of the Kremlin is still demanding the surrender of Ukraine, its renunciation of NATO membership and the Ukrainian territories it annexed.
The positions between Kyiv and Moscow seem irreconcilable at this stage, as the Russian president’s demands are considered unacceptable by President Volodymyr Zelensky and his fellow Ukrainian citizens.
In the meantime, Timofeï Davydov, a 24-year-old computer scientist, evokes the hopes of youth for a “calm” future: “As a young generation, I would like stability, to have solid ground under my feet and a peaceful sky above my head.
