Australians have watched Russia’s invasion of Ukraine closely, and express very high levels of concern about the war. In a separate April 2022 survey, almost all Australians (92%) say they are ‘very’ or ‘somewhat concerned’ about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Of this number, a sizeable 69% say they are ‘very concerned’ by the invasion.

In February 2022, the leaders of Russia and China held a high-level summit, prior to Russia invading Ukraine. Most Australians (87%) say they are concerned about China–Russia cooperation, with a majority (56%) saying they are ‘very concerned’ about the relationship between the two countries. Looking at the relationship between Russia and India, seven in ten Australians (72%) say they are very or somewhat concerned about India–Russia cooperation. Only 28% of Australians say they are ‘very concerned’ by this partnership.

These high levels of concern align with Australian reactions to Russia across the entire 2022 Lowy Institute Poll. This year, 68% of Australians say Russia’s foreign policy poses a critical threat to Australia’s interests, putting Russia at the top of the list of threats. This represents a remarkable 36-point jump since 2017. At the same time, only 6% of Australians express confidence in Russia’s President Putin, and 5% trust Russia to act responsibly in the world.

Russia also sits at the bottom of the Lowy Institute ‘feelings thermometer’ for the first time, registering an icy 19°, a 22-degree drop in a single year. By contrast, Ukraine receives a very warm reading from Australians of 69°, 18 degrees higher than the last time it featured on the thermometer in 2015.

Australians are broadly supportive of the policies that the Australian government has put in place following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Nine in ten Australians (90%) say they strongly or somewhat support ‘admitting Ukrainian refugees into Australia’. The same proportion of Australians (89%) support ‘keeping strict sanctions on Russia’. A large majority of Australians (83%) also support Australia ‘providing military aid to Ukraine’.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine