50% residents of Ukraine and 75% people living at uncontrolled by Ukrainian government want to live in peace.

20:17 / 15 Jun. 2016 / 683

50% residents of Ukraine and 75% people living at uncontrolled by Ukrainian government want to live in peace.
According to opinion poll conducted by Restoring Donbas Initiative together with “TNS Ukraine” due to two-years long hostilities in
Donbas half of all Ukrainians and 3/4 of people living at non-controlled by government territories feel tired of war and want peace. 2000 people aged 18+ from on all territories of Ukraine
responded the questions of the poll. All respondents from all parts of Ukraine said nearly the same answer to the question “why there is no peace in the country?”. They said
that the war is a profitable business to oligarchs and to politicians.

– The main objective for the poll is to find point that sever Ukrainians and to find the way out for all of us. For two years the Ukrainian authorities did so much to cut Donbas from Ukraine. This war change our gene pool. We’d like to find something that unites the country as the research shows that Ukrainians are for peace,- said Elena Petryaeva, the Head of Restoring Donbas Initiative.
But there is no one answer in the poll for the question concerning the following action of the State if it is decided to continue combat. Every third Ukrainian from West Ukraine and every forth resident of Kyiv support the symmetrical response if the clashes go on. But 60% of people living at non-controlled by government territories as well as 54% Ukrainians of South and 35% of North of Ukraine are ready to keep peace on any conditions. 30-40% Ukrainians from West and Central parts of Ukraine as well as from Kyiv chosen the answer “attack and defeat”. No on through Ukraine is against direct negotiation between Kiyv and Donetsk/Lugansk. 37% of the poll support such variant in Central part
of Ukraine and 85% at non-controlled territories.

To Oleksandr Klimenko’s opinion, the founder of Restoring Donbas Initiative, public figure and honorable head of “Uspishna Ukraina” party, the majority of Ukrainians are very peace loving and ready to talk to each other without intermediaries. So it means that people from both sides of contact line realize the fact that what is going on is not their war. The only thing they want is peace.
Oleksandr Klimenko also admitted that people are united in the human rights violation. No one could take away the right to vote. IDPs must have the same rights as anyone in the State. 80% of the poll respondents agree with this opinion. However there are many variants of responses were to the question as for legal status of Donbas. Only 7% support the opinion of Donbas is a
part of Ukraine at non-controlled territories, though the residents of the rest regions (70-80%) think vice averse.

Another point with diametrical point of view is safety in Donbas. The residents of non-controlled territories consider mines and arms the
main threats to their lives, the rest Ukrainians think the main problem is the lack of income.

– What we wanted to demonstrate by this poll is the opinions of all Ukrainians from all parts of the country. Surely, it was rather
difficult to do at non-controlled territories. But the level of reach ability was the same everywhere. The conclusion we did is all people want to live in peace. All responders wanted to share their opinion as for the future of our country,- said Svitlana Vinoslavskaya, Deputy General Manager “TNS Ukraine”. The results of the opinion poll will be sent to representatives of “Norman Four” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia) as well as given to OSCE, European Council, European Parliament, UN; CNSD, CMU, Ministry of information policy, Ministry of temporary occupied territories and IDPs, Commissioner of Human Rights.

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