Support for the Ukraine war has plummeted in Russia.
Support for the Ukraine war has fallen in Russia
A leaked Kremlin poll shows that just one in four Russian people are in favour of keeping troops in Ukraine in a further blow to Vladimir Putin.
57 per cent had been in favour of the 'special military operation' in July.
The findings were published in a report for senior government officials by the Kremlin's Federal Guard Service and have been obtained by Meduza - an independent investigative news website.
Denis Volkov, head of the Levada Centre, an independent research institute, said: "People perceived this as something that did not concern them.
"Now the risks have grown and people want (peace) talks to begin."
The drop in support comes after Russia ordered tens of thousands of men to be mobilised and sent to the front line in the conflict.
Putin had attempted to calm rising anger last week by holding a public meeting with the wives of soldiers.
However, relatives of those killed during the war accused the tyrant of staging a "sham" meeting by talking with a group of female officials and loyalists posing as military mothers.
A statement from the Council of Mothers and Wives said: "How can people be prevented from telling the truth about the needless deaths of thousands of recruits that are taking place?
"How can mothers be forbidden to learn about the fate of their sons, to protect them?
"How could our people be forbidden to speak out for peace and against wars?
"The victorious people are killed with a gag in their mouths."