Half of Austrians support Ukraine, 9% still see Russia as “partner” - poll

That’s according to an opinion poll run by the Austrian Society for European Politics (ÖGfE).

"Nearly half (51%) consider it ‘very important’ (25%) or ‘rather important’ (26%) that the EU and its member states continue to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression," ÖGfE reported.

At the same time, slightly more than a third of Austrians (36%) do not think so. To the question, "how important, in your opinion, is it for the European Union and its member states to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression?" 15% of respondents chose the option “rather unimportant", and 21% - "not at all important". Another 13% of respondents were undecided.

In addition, about 9% of Austrians still consider Russia a "reliable" partner for Austria. On the other hand, 79% of respondents hold the opposite opinion.

As for Ukraine, only 28% of Austrians rated Ukraine as a trustworthy partner. At the same time, 50% of respondents in Austria do not see Ukraine as one.

As for the United States, 34% consider the United States a trustworthy partner, but 47% hold the opposite opinion.

The survey also showed that Austrians support remaining a member of the EU and strengthening European cooperation in the field of security and defense, while joining NATO remains strongly rejected.

Thus, 68% of respondents are in favor of Austria remaining a member of the European Union, and 25% are in favor of pulling from the bloc.

If a referendum on Austria's accession to NATO were to be held now, six out of 10 respondents (61%) would vote against it, and two out of 10 (21%) would vote for the move. Another fifth of the population (19%) has no opinion on the matter.

At the same time, two-thirds of Austrians (67%) are in favor of strengthening cooperation between EU member states in the field of security and defense, 20% hold the opposite opinion, and 13% are undecided.

The survey was conducted from April 11 to 13, 2023, as 1,000 people were polled online across Austria. Statistical error stands at +/- 3.16%.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, more than 100 Austrian former high-ranking generals, ministers, politicians, ambassadors and other diplomats, security and foreign policy experts, journalists, scholars and businessmen called on the country's leadership to start a national discussion on Austria's future security and defense policy and adopt a new security doctrine.

The current version of Austria's Security Strategy, which is the fundamental document in the field of national security and foreign policy, still considers the Russian Federation as an "important" and "strategic" partner of the European Union on a par with the United States.

The federal government announced work on drafting a new document.