Kyiv, April 30, 2014

The vast majority of Ukrainians don’t support Russian intervention in Ukraine and think Ukraine should remain a united, unitary state with strong ties to the EU. These were the results of a recent survey conducted in Ukraine by the public opinion and market research company Baltic Surveys/The Gallup Organization on behalf of the International Republican Institute (IRI). Despite Russia’s claims to the contrary, almost two-thirds of Russian-speaking citizens and eastern Ukrainians don’t want Russian “protection”. More than half of Russian speakers strongly approve the interim government. According to IRI polling, there is a striking difference between the true opinions of Ukrainians and how they are being portrayed by Russian propaganda.