According to a study by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, most of the Russians do not want to see the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics (DPR and LPR) as parts of Russia.
Only 16% of the Russians would welcome the republics into their country.
Still most of the Russians express support for the republics. Some 15% of them are sure that the self-defenders in Donbass are mostly Russians (against 5% last year), while as many as 66% believe that the self-defenders are mostly Ukrainians (against 88% last year).
Some 31% advise the Russian authorities to be neutral. 26% urge them to recognize the independence of the self-proclaimed republics. 74% advocate peace talks, while 10% urge the Donbass self-defenders to fight till final victory.
According to as many as 73% of the respondents, Russia should continue providing Donbass with humanitarian assistance. 19% say that the supplies must be stopped.
The survey was held on Sept 5-6 2015 among 1,600 people from 46 regions. The statistical error does not exceed 3.5%.