Norfolk teacher who fled Russia says public opinion's turning against the Kremlin
Ted Jennings had been living in Kazan, near Moscow but headed for home, after being urged to do so by friends and locals
Russian public opinion is turning against the war in Ukraine, as sanctions begin to bite.
That's according to a teacher from Norfolk who fled the country days before the invasion started.
Ted Jennings had been living and working in Kazan, near Moscow but headed for home, via Finland after being urged to do so by friends and locals.
He told us the vast majority are deeply unhappy about the on-going situation: "Nobody that I've spoken to is in favour of the war, the closest I've had to that is some people saying they don't want to talk about it or they don't pay attention to what is going on there.
"The vast majority of my friends are completely opposed to it and quite upset by the war. Of course I've been mixing very much in circles of people my own age and these people are less likely to rely on state media."
He went on to say that his landlady was one of the first people to contact him about leaving. While his workplace weren't far behind: "Before I had the chance to message her and say I was leaving, she messaged me saying 'are you really planning on staying here?
"'I'm quite worried about you being here'.
"She sent me quite an aggressive and damning verdict of what's been going on and saying how scared she is for the future, if she had somewhere to go she'd leave, she'd be leaving Russia.
"My employers at first were saying 'oh it's fine, it's going to be fine in a few weeks, you don't need to leave'. But then, a day or two passed and they were were saying it's definitely the right choice to get out now.
"So people were quite supportive of the decision and they understood why it's probably a difficult time to be living there, especially as a foreigner".
He concluded by saying that things must change at the top, before he's going back: "My school said I'm always welcome to come back and work, my visa runs until late October- so I'd be open to going back if the situation changes.
"But I think, as long as the current regime is in power and current situation continue, that's not going to happen."