Most residents of Donbas want return of occupied territories

The results of the poll were presented at an online press conference broadcast by Ukrinform on Thursday, April 9.

"Residents of the Ukrainian Donbas want the return of occupied territories to Ukraine. The majority speak of the return as before, without granting special status or expanded powers to the region. There are somewhat more people undecided in this matter among residents of Luhansk region, but in general, this does not change the picture. Only 5% to 8% of residents of the Ukrainian-controlled Donbas support the granting of independence to occupied territories or even their accession to the Russian Federation," the foundation's political analyst, Serhiy Shapovalov, said.

A regional survey was conducted in the government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the Center for Political Sociology (with the involvement of the Ukrainian Sociological Service) from February 18 to March 2, 2020. A total of 500 respondents were interviewed in each of the regions. The sample is representative of age, gender, and place of residence. The poll's margin of error does not exceed 3.5%.

The survey was conducted with the financial support of the British Embassy in Ukraine.

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