Analysis by Leo Burnett: Romanians' attitude towards the Russian-Ukrainian conflict

A total of 63% of the Romanian respondents are worried about the perspective of the war in Ukraine escalating globally, according to a Global Web Index (GWI) survey analyzed by Leo Burnett. Still, only half of the respondents believe this scenario to be a real threat. At the same time, close to one in two Romanian respondents (43%) are worried about Romania’s potential military involvement in the conflict, the analysis, quoted by Hotnews.ro, showed. When it comes to the impact of the conflict, Romanians are worried about personal finances (73%), and more than half of them have already cut back on current expenses. Other worrying aspects are the dependence on Russian oil and gas (60%), the evolution of the interest rate (50%), and the impact on mental health (57%). A total of 73% of the Romanian respondents think the EU and NATO should get involved more in the conflict, but only one in three believe NATO should send troops in Ukraine, and 26% that Romania should get involved with armed forces. Furthermore, 35% of the Romanian respondents are confident about the effectiveness of the economic sanctions in discouraging the Russian offensive. Another 26% of the respondents believe Ukraine should be allowed entry into the European Union, while 28% believe the Russian population should not be punished for the military measures taken by the country’s leadership. With respect to measures taken by Romania, 75% of the Romanian respondents think the country should accept refugees, and 65% that it should send financial help. On the topic of companies and brands, 65% of the Romanian respondents expect them to act with respect to conflict-related aspects: offer facilities for refugees (56%), withdraw their products/services from Russia (55%), and donate funds or goods and services (47%). On the personal involvement side, 31% of the Romanian respondents said they already donated to help refugees, while 49% plan to do so in the near future. Furthermore, 21% of Romanian respondents said they prefer to buy products from brands involved in various fundraising and refugee support activities. The Leo Burnett analysis was done based on the data from the study carried out by GWI between March 7 and March 14. The study looks at the concerns, reactions, and attitudes of consumers across 21 global markets in response to the crisis in Ukraine. The research was carried out among internet users aged 16-64, reflecting the online populations of each market (a base of 20,428 internet users). The countries covered in the research are Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, the UK and the US.