Half of Russians support the war to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO

One in two Russians, 50%, consider it correct that their country use military force against Ukraine to prevent the Kiev government from joining NATO, according to a poll published Wednesday by CNN.

The survey, carried out by the demographic company Savanta ComRes among citizens of Ukraine and Russia, concludes that only 25 percent of Russians consider that it would be wrong to resort to the Army against Ukraine and another 25% are not sure what is the best option to resolve the current crisis.

But the survey also found that more Russians think it would be a mistake to try to “gather” by force to Russia and Ukraine, two countries with a long and complicated history of intertwined relations.

It is a decision that most consider difficult to adopt, but the survey estimates that 43% of Russians are not in favor of resorting to force to integrate Ukraine into Russia, while 36% do not think it is a bad option.

The chain points out that, as expected, the rejection of the use of force by Russia is majority among Ukrainians.

Seven out of 10 Ukrainian respondents said it would be wrong for Russia to use military force to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO (70%) or to bring the two countries together (73%).

And most Ukrainians reject the claim Russian President Vladimir Putin made in a speech last Monday that Ukraine has no historical basis and is essentially a creation of the Soviet Union.

In general, among respondents from all over the country and of all ages in Ukraine, there was a majority consensus that they do not feel “a single town” alongside the Russians and that the two countries should not be one.

Only one in five Ukrainians ventures a peaceful end to tensions with Russia, compared to two-thirds of Russians (21% vs. 65%).

And only a quarter (26%) of Ukrainians expect military defense of Ukraine by NATO or the US, and are more likely to expect economic sanctions against Russian leaders (46%) or Russian companies. (3. 4%).

The survey, conducted among more than 1,000 people in each country, was conducted online between February 7 and 15, before Putin’s speech last Monday and Moscow’s recognition of the sovereignty of the Ukrainian breakaway republics of the Donbas.