Forty-five percent of Russians think that there is no threat of war with Ukraine amid bilateral tensions in the Kerch Strait, while 15 percent think that such a scenario is likely, a poll by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) showed on Friday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th December, 2018) Forty-five percent of Russians think that there is no threat of war with Ukraine amid bilateral tensions in the Kerch Strait, while 15 percent think that such a scenario is likely, a poll by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) showed on Friday.At the same time, 29 percent of people surveyed said that the risk of a Russian-Ukrainian war was "low," according to the pollster.
As for the incident in the Kerch Strait, 45 percent said that it had not led to anything "fundamentally new" in terms of bilateral relations, while 31 percent of Russians have defined the incident as a serious escalation of the conflict, the poll's results indicated.
Over 45 percent of the respondents think that Russia should respond to Kiev's introduction of martial law in several Ukrainian regions located near the Russian border, while 27 percent said that Moscow should abstain from reacting.
The poll was held on December 1-2 among 1,500 people. The margin of error does not exceed 3.6 percent.
On November 25, three ships of the Ukrainian Navy Berdyansk, Nikopol, and Yany Kapu breached the Russian border, entered Russian territorial waters that were temporarily closed, and began moving toward the Kerch Strait, which serves as the entrance into the Sea of Azov. The Ukrainian vessels and their crew were detained by Russia after failing to respond to a lawful demand to stop.
In response to the incident, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree declaring martial law in several Ukrainian regions located near the Russian border, and the coasts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the incident was a provocation prepared in advance as a pretext to introduce martial law. Putin said the provocation could be linked to Poroshenko's low approval ratings ahead of the presidential campaign set to start in late December.
