More than two-thirds of Russians now believe their country is threatened by other nations' military, but only about half think the current state of Russia's military is up to standards, according to a new poll conducted by the government-owned Russian Public Opinion Research Center.
The poll found that a record 68 percent of respondents believe an unspecified foreign military poses a threat to Russia's security, up from 52 percent a year ago, Reuters reported. The share of Russians who doubt such a threat exists fell from 42 percent to 28 percent.
The percent of Russians who view the current state of their military forces as "good" also skyrocketed to 49 percent, up from just 24 percent in 2014, while 40 percent said the Russian military is strong enough to repeal threats, but needs improvement. Another 40 percent said the strength of Russia's military need to be increased.
According to the center, the highest number of Russians since 1999 believe in the possibility of the threat of war.
Another poll released in late January by an independent pollster found that 81 percent of Russians held a negative view of the U.S., up from 44 percent a year ago, according to RT.
Russian-friendly media often portray the conflict in eastern Ukraine as being instigated by the West, and President Vladimir Putin has said the fighting is being conducted by NATO proxies to "contain" Russia, according to Reuters.
Putin often criticizes the U.S. for imposing economic sanctions on his country and denies any involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. In Dec. 2014, Putin said NATO is Russia's number one military threat.
Meanwhile, a Gallup poll released last week found that Americans now consider Russia as the United States' biggest enemy, whereas in 2014, most Americans viewed North Korea as their top enemy.
This week, Senior Western officials accused Russia of redrawing Europe's 21st century borders by force, claiming the country's aggression poses a threat to the Baltic states, insisting a greater NATO presence is necessary on Baltic borders.
