Every fifth inhabitant of the south and east of Ukraine supports the autonomy of Donbas, – poll

17:12 / 13 Apr. 2017 / 766

Almost every fifth (18%) resident of the south and east of Ukraine sees the autonomy of Donbas as part of Ukraine to some extent, while only 2% wants to become a part of Russia. According to the GfK poll, 37% of respondents believe that Donetsk and Luhansk regions should maintain relations with Kyev in the way they were before the war, 11% of respondents believe that Donbas should remain part of Ukraine, but get some autonomy from Kyev, 7% of respondents are sure that Donbas should get considerable autonomy within Ukraine, and 7% are convinced that  Donbas should be independent, 2% – within Russian Federation.

The greatest support for the idea of ​​preserving pre-war relations is enjoyed by the residents of Mykolaiv (59%), Kherson (53%) and Zaporizhye (43%) regions.

According to the survey, autonomy is more or less supported by residents of Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, by 23% each.

The survey was conducted by GfK on behalf of the Media Institute with the support of the Ukrainian confidence-building initiative (UCBI) and USAID in January-March 2017 in eight regions of the east and south of Ukraine (Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolayiv, Kherson, Odesa, Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which are controlled by the government of Ukraine). A total of 15,103 respondents were interviewed.

The courts of Ukraine reportedly were banned from using the names of “Donetsk/Luhansk People’s Republic”.

Source: www.interfax.com.ua

Photos: www.plus.google.com.ua

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