Almost half of Russians want President Vladimir Putin to open talks to end the war in Ukraine, according to a survey.

Some 48 percent of respondents agreed it was time to negotiate a peace deal, with 39 percent in favor of pressing on with the war, the telephone poll of 1,611 people by the Russian Field company found.

The proportion favoring talks was the highest since the company began monitoring attitudes to the war in April last year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no willingness to end the invasion he began in February 2022, even as Russian forces have incurred huge casualties and repeatedly been forced to retreat from occupied territory by Ukrainian troops armed with billions of dollars in weapons from the US and NATO allies. (Bloomberg)