Nearly half of Ukrainians don't believe Crimea will ever become part of Ukraine again - poll
As many as 44.4% of Ukrainians do not believe that Crimea could ever be reincorporated into Ukraine again, as seen from the findings of a public opinion poll conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation jointly with the Razumkov Center sociological service.
Asked how likely Crimea's reincorporation into Ukraine in the future seemed to them, 9.3% answered this could happen in the near future, 34% that this is rather possible, but in a more distant future, 27.3% that this is rather impossible, and 17.1% that this is absolutely impossible and that Ukraine has lost Crimea forever.
Among the respondents who believe that Crimea might be returned to Ukraine, 41.7% view diplomatic efforts aimed at toughening international sanctions on Russia as the most efficient way to accomplish this, 46% favor reforms to increase standards of living in Ukraine, which could seem appealing to the Crimeans; 12% believe that negotiations with Russia on the matter could be successful, and 13% propose Crimea's full isolation.
Among the respondents who view Crimea's reincorporation into Ukraine as impossible, 52% named Russia's military presence on the peninsula as the main factor. Listing other factors preventing Ukraine from ever regaining Crimea, 39% mentioned negative attitudes toward Ukraine among the peninsula's residents, 35% a long period of Crimea's being part of Russia, 29.3% the Ukrainian leadership's lack of interest in regaining Crimea, and 28.7% weak international support for Ukraine's efforts to regain the peninsula.
The poll included 2,019 interviews conducted from July 29 to August 4.
Russia's Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) on Thursday published the findings of its poll showing that most of Crimeans have no doubts that the decision on incorporating the peninsula into Russia in 2014 was right, with 93% of the respondents considering this to be positive and only 4% being opposed to it. If a referendum on joining Russia was conducted now, 88% of Crimeans would support this decision again, 7% are undecided, and 5% would vote for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea's status within Ukraine.
