Julia Dessa
KYIV, Jan 16 (Reuters) – A majority of Ukrainians strongly oppose withdrawing troops from the eastern Donetsk region that Kiev still controls in exchange for security guarantees from Europe and the United States, a poll showed on Friday.
Ukraine, wary of past unfulfilled promises, is pushing for legally binding security guarantees to prevent any future Russian aggression.
Ukraine is under pressure from the United States to quickly agree to a peace deal but has refused to accept Russia’s demands to cede land it still controls in the eastern Donbass, a large, mineral-rich industrial region that includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Russia controls almost all of Luhansk, but Kiev still controls about 20% of Donetsk, including a series of strategically important garrison towns and defense lines.
A poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) shows that 54% of Ukrainians categorically reject the idea of withdrawing troops from parts of Donbas in exchange for security guarantees from allies.
About 39% said they would reluctantly accept it.
Anton Hrushetskyi, executive director of KIIS, said: “Moreover, those who are prepared to agree expect quite significant safety guarantees. Therefore, if the level of safety guarantees is lower than expected, the approval rate for such proposals will be even lower.”
The survey was conducted in early January on Ukrainian-controlled territory and involved 601 respondents.
Nearly 70% believe the current negotiations will not lead to lasting peace.
About 57% believe that Russia will launch another attack if there is a ceasefire on the current front lines and security guarantees from allies.
However, even if security guarantees were provided, 40% believed the United States would not provide support if Russia invaded again, while 39% believed support would be provided.
Russia has publicly shown little interest in scaling back its demands and has said little about the 20-point peace framework Ukraine and the United States have been trying to hammer out.
Instead, Russia has stepped up airstrikes, wreaking havoc on already devastated energy infrastructure and leaving millions without power and heat in freezing temperatures.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Kevin Liffey)