Over 70% of Ukrainians see events in Donbas as war with Russia

13.02.2019 17:20

Ukrinform

More than 70% of Ukrainians share the opinion that the war is currently ongoing between Russia and Ukraine, according to a survey conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the Razumkov Center.

An analyst at the Democratic Initiatives Foundation, Serhiy Shapovalov, unveiled the results of the survey at a press conference at Ukrinform on Wednesday.

According to the research, 72% of Ukrainian citizens share the opinion that the war is ongoing between Russia and Ukraine. This view is most common in the western (91%) and central (79%) regions of the country. This opinion is also backed by 62% of those living in the south and 47% in the east. In government-controlled areas in Donbas, the views of the inhabitants of the region almost halved - 39% believe that there is currently a war between Russia and Ukraine, while 40% hold the opposite view.

At the same time, almost half of the residents of Donbas (49%) consider Russia to be a party to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Some 27% of those polled do not agree with this opinion, and 24% of respondents could not answer. A third of Donbas residents are convinced that Russia supplies arms to "DPR" and "LPR," while another 27% of Donbas residents surveyed believe that Russia controls all political and military actions of self-proclaimed republics, and 23% are certain that the Russian army is fighting on the side of self-proclaimed republics. Some 24% of respondents from Luhansk and Donetsk regions said that Russia was providing humanitarian aid to Donbas.

According to the poll, Ukrainian television channels serve as the main sources of information on events in Donbas for 63% of the residents of this region, while 47% of respondents use the Internet. Some 41% of respondents from Donbas learn about events in the region from their relatives, friends and acquaintances. Almost a third (29%) uses social media for this purpose. Russian TV channels are used by 16% of citizens, while about 15% receive information from the local press.

The national survey was conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the sociological service of the Razumkov Center from December 19 to December 25, 2018 in all regions of Ukraine, except for Crimea and occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. A total of 2,017 adult respondents were interviewed. The poll's margin of error does not exceed 2.3%. The survey was funded as part of the MATRA program of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine.

The regional public opinion poll was conducted in Donetsk and Luhansk regions (on the territory controlled by Ukraine) by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation (involving the network of the Ukrainian Sociology Service) from Noveber 1 to November 11, 2018. In total, 500 respondents were interviewed in each of the regions. The margin of error does not exceed 3.5%.

The regional survey was conducted as part of the project "The Transition to the Peace Process in Donbas: Increasing the Inclusiveness of Local Communities in a Potential Peacekeeping Mission" with the financial support of the Canadian Embassy in Ukraine.