Poll: Most Ukrainians want a unified country [View all]

[dipsydoodle]

Last edited Thu May 8, 2014, 05:13 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Yahoo News / Associated Press

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — A strong majority of Ukrainians want their country to remain a single, unified state and this is true even in the largely Russian-speaking east where a pro-Russia insurgency has been fighting for autonomy, a poll released Thursday shows.

The survey results were released just hours before the pro-Russia forces in eastern Ukraine said they would go ahead with a referendum on autonomy planned for Sunday, ignoring Russian President Vladimir Putin's call to delay the vote.

The poll by the Pew Research Center in Washington found that 77 percent of people nationwide want Ukraine to maintain its current borders, and even in the east the figure is 70 percent. Only among Russian speakers does the percentage drop significantly, but it is still over half at 58 percent.

The central government in Kiev has the confidence of only about 41 percent of Ukrainians, with a sharp divide between the west of the country, where support is 60 percent, and the east, where it is 24 percent, according to the poll. DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) -- A strong majority of Ukrainians want their country to remain a single, unified state and this is true even in the largely Russian-speaking east where a pro-Russia insurgency has been fighting for autonomy, a poll released Thursday shows.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/poll-most-ukrainians-want-unified-country-070053718.html

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edited - AP reused their original link for a different subject.

Original narrative from 12 hours ago here :

The survey results were released as the pro-Russia forces were considering whether to go ahead with a referendum on autonomy planned for Sunday in defiance of a call from Russian President Vladimir Putin to delay the vote. A decision was expected later in the day.

The organizers have said the referendum was on whether to give the eastern regions more autonomy within Ukraine, but they have left open the possibility of using it to seek independence or annexation by Russia. Many fear that such a vote could be a flashpoint for further violence between Ukrainian troops and the militants who have seized government buildings in about a dozen cities in the east.

Putin's comments on Wednesday appeared to be an effort to step back from confrontation with the West over Ukraine. He also declared that Russia has pulled its troops away from the Ukrainian border, although NATO and Washington said they saw no signs of this.