Bonn, 16 February 2023 (dpa/MIA) – A clear majority of 61% of European Union residents believe that Ukraine will emerge victorious in its conflict with Russia, a representative survey conducted by Germany's Bertelsmann Foundation has found.

Almost 13,300 EU residents were asked to respond to the statement: "Ukraine will win this war," the foundation said on publishing the results on Thursday after conducting the poll in December.

Germans were considerably more sceptical than the average, with just 55% agreeing with the statement.

Asked to respond to the statement: "Russia’s attack on Ukraine is an attack on all of Europe," 68% of those surveyed agreed, with the figure highest in Poland at 79% and in Spain at 78%.

Respondents were considerably more sceptical on whether financial and economic sanctions on Russia were effective, with 40% overall believing in their effectiveness and just 35% of Germans.

Some 66% attributed "primary responsibility" for the conflict to Russia, with 11% blaming the United States. A figure of 5% was recorded as blaming Ukraine or NATO respectively. The remainder responded: "I don't know."

The figure in Poland diverged strongly on this point, with 88% seeing Russia as largely to blame. The figure was in strong contrast to that in Italy, where 54% blamed Russia and 23% the US or NATO.