The Western world has been united by the war in Ukraine, with the defeat of Russia seen as the only acceptable outcome of the conflict – even if that means more death and destruction.

But for countries in the east, such as China and India, as well as Turkey and Russia itself, the conflict has to stop as soon as possible, even if it means Ukraine ceding parts of its territory to Moscow, according to a new multi-country poll conducted by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) think-tank.

In particular, the poll’s results make it clear that Europeans and Americans hold many views in common about major global issues, seeing Russia as their adversary.

They also hold the belief that the coming global order will most likely be defined by two blocs led respectively by the United States and China, in contrast to the majority opinion in non-Western countries that the emergence of a multipolar world order is more probable than a bipolar arrangement.

The poll of 19,765 adults aged over 18 across 15 countries was conducted by the ECFR in early 2023 in collaboration with the Europe in a Changing World project of the Dahrendorf Programme at St Antony’s College at the University of Oxford.

Ten of the countries were in Europe (Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain), while the other five were China, India, Turkey, Russia and the US.

Delving into the poll data, it is clear that while a significant number of Europeans seek an end to the war as soon as possible, there is a clear trend pointing to a preference for the conflict to endure for some time longer if it means a decisive Ukrainian victory.

That was also true for American respondents, who expressed the opinion that Ukraine must regain its territory if lasting peace is to be secured.

The reverse was true in the case of non-Western countries, with 54 per cent of Indian respondents, 48 per cent of Turks and 42 per cent of Chinese saying that it would be worth Ukraine giving up territory if it expedites the end of the war.

Nevertheless, almost a third of people in both India and Turkey were in support of Ukraine regaining all of its territory, even if more Ukrainians were killed and displaced.

Perceptions of Russia also revealed a divide between the East and the West.

Most Americans and Europeans saw Russia as an “adversary” or “rival”, according to the poll.

Seventy-one per cent of American respondents, 77 per cent of Britons and 65 per cent of those polled in European Union countries used one of these two terms to describe Russia, indicating that they saw the future of relations with the Kremlin as one of confrontation.

In contrast, 51 per cent of Indians described Russia as an “ally” and a further 29 per cent saw it as a “partner”.

Seventy-nine per cent of Chinese respondents held a similar view, as did 69 per cent in Turkey.

The result indicates that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression and his military failures in the conflict have not led people in non-Western countries to downgrade their opinion of Russia or question its relative strength.

Indeed, more than three-quarters of respondents in China, Turkey and India believed that Russia was either stronger, or at least equally strong, as compared with how they perceived it before the war.

The non-Western countries also differed in their views on why the US and Europe are aiding Ukraine in the conflict.

In China, many respondents opined that the support was driven by a desire to protect Western dominance.

The vast majority in China and Turkey said the support was motivated by reasons other than a defence of Ukraine’s territorial integrity or its democracy.

More than half of Indian respondents, however, felt the West’s support was driven by a desire to defend Ukraine’s territorial integrity or democracy.

One of the study’s conclusions is that contrary to Mr Putin’s expectations, the war has consolidated the West, rather than weakened it.

However, it is not necessarily more influential in global politics, with the newfound unity coinciding with the emergence of a post-Western world where other powers will not simply do as it wishes.

In that regard, even when emerging powers agree with the West, they will often maintain good relations with Russia and China.

It may also disappoint Europeans that the people in India and Turkey tend to view Russia’s aggression through the prism of their national interest, rather than universal principles.

“Ukraine’s victory in the war will be critical for the shape of the next European order. But it is highly unlikely to restore a US-led global liberal order. Instead, the West will have to live, as one pole of a multipolar world, with hostile dictatorships such as China and Russia, but also with independent major powers such as India and Turkey,” the study’s authors concluded.

“This may end up being the biggest geopolitical turning point revealed by the war: that the consolidation of the West is taking place in an increasingly divided post-Western world,” they added.