28.04.2015, Survey: Russian support for Eastern Ukraine?

46 % of respondents were in favour of their country staying neutral in this conflict, whereas 41 % of respondents voted for a support of the separatists by Russia.. However, only 7 % of respondents would opt for their country’s supporting the separatists by sending Russian troops to Eastern Ukraine. 28 % of respondents would wish Russia to supply arms to the separatists, and 39 % would prefer to provide political support only.

In general, support for direct involvement by the Russian Federation in the Ukrainian conflict is slight, not only among Russians in general, but also among those who want to provide aid to the separatists. This is because officially sending Russian troops would represent a declaration of war against Ukraine, a step that Russians apparently find unacceptable.

This is one of the results of an opinion poll done by the renowned Levada Institute upon the commission of Bertelsmann Stiftung and the Warsaw ISP in February. At the same time, Bertelsmann Stiftung and the ISP did surveys in Germany and Poland on the reception of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis by their respective populations.