Russian-Ukrainian relations hit the bottom, according to Russians. However, respondents say that support for Donbass rebels should not be abandoned.

MOSCOW, September 22, 2015. Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) presents the results of the survey describing how Russians assess the current relationships between Russia, Ukraine and the West.

In September 2015, the Russian-Ukrainian relation index fell to a record low (-51 p.), which is lower than the previous minimum (January 2010 record was -29 p.); the maximum meaning was recorded in June 1999 (26 p.).

According to the recent data, more than two-thirds of respondents (38%) think that there is a tension between Russia and Ukraine; more than one-quarter of respondents (29%) think that the relations between the two countries are hostile; this share is three times bigger than the March 2014 record (8%). Only 4% of respondents view the relations as friendly (from 9-10% in 2014); 2% - as good-neighborly (against 7% in March 2014).

At the same time, during the recent month 44% of Russians (50% of residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg) have mentioned increased tensions between the two nations, compared to 65% of those who pointed out it in June 2014. Forty-two percent of Russians think that the situation has not changed. Only 5% of Russians reported normalization of the situation.

Most of respondents believe that Russian authorities should not change any decisions to repair relations with Ukraine and Western countries. Fifty-eight percent are confident that Russia should not stop supporting the Donbass rebels. Those who think so are mainly elderly respondents (64% of those aged over 60), residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg (66%), those with high financial income (66%), rather than 18-24-year-olds (45%), rural area residents (53%), and respondents with low income (46%). They are opposed by 11% of respondents. Fifteen percent believe that there is no need today to improve this sort of relations.

Russian-Ukrainian relations index is based on the question “How would you assess the current relations between Russia and Ukraine?” and reflects the state of bilateral relations. The higher the value of index is, the better the relations between the two countries are. The index is calculated as a difference between positive and negative answers, measured in points and can vary between -100 and 100. The answer “friendly” corresponds to the coefficient “1”; “good-neighborly”- “0.66”; “rather warm”- “0.33”; “neutral”- “0”; “cool”-  0.33”; “tense”- “0.66”; “hostile”-  “1”.  

The VCIOM opinion poll was conducted September 5-6, 2015; 1600 respondents were interviewed in 132 settlements in 46 regions of Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.5%.

Note: Using materials from the site www.wciom.ru or wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory!