Almost half of Ukrainians against 'free economic zone' in Donbas

Forty-five percent of Ukrainians do not support the idea of granting the status of a "free economic zone" to Donetsk and Luhansk regions, while 33.5% approve of such an initiative, according to a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

Some 20.5% of respondents refused to answer.

In Ukraine's western regions, 27.1% support the initiative and 53.1% do not support it. In the center of Ukraine, 28.1% support the initiative and 50.1% are against it. In the southern regions, 37.1% support the initiative and 32.7% do not support it. In the eastern regions (including Donbas), 45.8% back the initiative and 35.5% are against it.

In addition, when asked what a "free economic zone" means, 32% of respondents said they could not answer. The remaining 68% gave answers that, on the one hand, demonstrate the diversity of understanding of the "free economic zone." On the other hand, many of the respondents' answers rather indicate a lack of a properly informed understanding of what exactly is at stake, sociologists said.

Respondents were also divided on whether a poll initiated by President Volodymyr Zelensky on the day of local elections was his sincere intention to hear the opinion of most people or whether it was a political technology aimed at achieving his own goals. In particular, 44% believe that this is a sincere intention, whereas 44% consider it a political technology.

At the same time, 54.6% of respondents said they intended to take part in such a "poll" on election day, whereas 35.8% said they would not participate in the poll.

The survey was conducted from October 17 to October 19, 2020 via CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviews) based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers. The sample did not include territories that are temporarily not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities - the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and some districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Some 505 interviews were conducted during the survey. The survey's margin of error does not exceed 4.5% for figures close to 50%, 3.9% for figures close to 25%, and 2.7% for figures close to 10%.

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