NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 25 – A recent study has revealed that most Africans feel that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is against the principles of international law.
According to the survey by IPSOS South Africa, the Russian forces should withdraw from Ukraine following their invasion in February last year.
Those polled believed that Russia was guilty of committing war crimes in Ukraine.
“These were the most important findings in a random study among individuals 18 years old and older, who expressed an interest in news and politics in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda, and Zambia,” the study stated.
The study shows that 76% of Kenyans agree that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is against the principles of international law while 83% of Kenyans agree that African countries should stick together when it comes to foreign policy issues.
On the Russian aggression, 76% of Kenyans polled agree that both the Ukrainians
and the Russians are victims in this war.
Overall, 66% of Kenyans agree that All African countries should not take sides in this war.
The research was done ahead of the African Peace Initiative visit to Kyiv and Moscow, the upcoming Russia/Africa meetings in St. Petersburg and the BRICS Summit in South Africa in August, international research company Ipsos polled African citizens on their attitudes towards Russia, Ukraine and the controversial position on the war taken by some African governments.
Africans expressed strong feelings that the continent should stay nonaligned or neutral in this conflict and Kenyans, especially, felt that Africa should not take sides in the war.
A smaller proportion of Nigerians, however, thought quite strongly that Africa could not afford to remain neutral in the war and should support Ukraine.
Most Africans took a neutral stance when asked about whether their own government should support Russia or Ukraine.
“Majorities maintained that the ideal outcome would be somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. It is important to observe that larger proportions in all seven countries thought support for Ukraine rather than for Russia was in the best interest of their countries.”
