Ukrainians blame their own government alongside Russia for the conflict – poll – RT Russia and the former Soviet Union

Ukrainians tend to believe that not just Russia, but their own government, the United States and NATO should all share responsibility for the conflict in their country, according to a recent poll.

The survey, conducted by telephone among 1,005 Ukrainians between June 9 and June 13, was carried out by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago and funded by The Wall Street Journal.

Participants were unanimous on Russia’s role in the conflict, with 82% saying the country carries « a great responsibility » after sending its troops to Ukraine on February 24. Only 9% thought that Moscow had nothing to be ashamed of.

However, the poll clearly showed that most Ukrainians do not seem to agree with the narrative of President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Western supporters that Moscow’s military operation in their country was an unprovoked aggression.

As many as 70% of respondents said Ukrainian government actions had also contributed to the outbreak of the conflict, with 47% attributing « a great responsibility » in kyiv for this.

The United States, which provided the Zelensky government with billions of dollars in military and economic aid during the Russian military operation, was found 58% guilty. According to 26% of respondents, Americans wear « a great responsibility » for the current state of affairs.

Ukrainians rated the role of the US-led NATO bloc the same as Washington’s, with a difference of only a few percentage points. NATO’s eastward expansion and plans to make Ukraine a member of the alliance have been branded a national security threat by Moscow and named as one of the main reasons for its offensive .

Another reason given by the Russian authorities was the need to « denazify » Ukraine, but only 35% of respondents said they thought the country « far-right nationalists » had no role to play in provoking the conflict.

Despite Russia’s steady advances in the Donbass, the Ukrainians seemed optimistic about the overall outcome of the fighting.

Only 6% said it was « extremely » Where « very probable » that Moscow would be able to keep all the areas it currently controls in the Donbass and southern Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.

According to 66% of respondents, kyiv will eventually regain all its lost land, and things will return to normal.

Russia sent troops to Ukraine four months ago, citing kyiv’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, intended to give Donetsk and Luhansk regions special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has since admitted that kyiv’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to save time and « to create powerful armed forces. »

In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbas republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc.