In Ukraine, support for an alliance with Russia has dropped significantly, but the number of supporters of joining the EU has not increased significantly.
Kiev sociologist Irina Bekeshkina stated this in an interview with the Ukrainian Week magazine.
She argues that today's public sentiment and foreign policy preferences of Ukrainian citizens would be different from those in 2013 if Crimea and the Donbass, which is not controlled by Kyiv, had appeared in the polls.
“They would be different. After all, the greatest changes occurred in the South and East of the country. If we even take the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, then before there was a complete monopoly of the Party of Regions (80%) and few communists. Now they have a majority, but there is no longer a monopoly. There are BPP, Batkivshchyna, RPL, and others in the local councils. And the ratings of the next elections also indicate the diversity of choice. Previously it was a monolith, but today it is missing. Not only the political monolith has been destroyed, but also in foreign policy orientations too. The eastern vector simply collapsed,” says the sociologist.
“True, the number of supporters of European integration has not increased too much, but support for the union with Russia has fallen sharply,” Bekeshkina clarifies. – Now people who have until now focused on the Russian Federation are saying that we don’t need to join anywhere.
As for NATO: yes, the majority of opponents of membership are in Donbass. But I really like one example. In 2013, with NATO membership in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions there was 0,3% support. This is one person out of 283. 94% were against. Now the majority is also against it, but already 50%. But 20% for. Once upon a time we had so many all over the country. Therefore, shifts are taking place there too. Of course, we are talking about the part that is under the control of Ukraine. But I am sure that if the remaining territories return to the state, then changes will come there too.”