Over Half of Zaporozhye and Kherson’s Residents Want to Join Russia: Poll

Russian forces established control over most of the Kherson region and much of neighboring Zaporozhye in the early weeks of the special military operation in Ukraine. Local residents have expressed gratitude to Russia for its provision of humanitarian aid, and voiced frustration with Kiev over the Ukrainian military’s shelling of civilian areas.

Majorities of residents in Kherson and Zaporozhye would take part in a vote on their regions’ status, and the bulk of them would like to see their regions break off from Ukraine and join Russia, a poll has found.

The survey, conducted by Russia-based market research company INSOMAR, found that 61 percent of residents of Kherson, and 74 percent of residents of the areas of Zaporozhye outside of Kiev’s control, would like for a vote to be held, with 22 percent and 13 percent saying they would not participate, respectively.

Those polled were asked the question: “Would you like the territory to remain part of Ukraine, become part of Russia or become an independent state after the completion of the military operation?”

63 percent of respondents in Kherson said they would like the region to become part of Russia, 11 percent said they want to remain part of Ukraine, 7 percent said the region should become an independent state, and 19 percent found it difficult to answer.

In Zaporozhye, 71 percent said they would like the region to become part of Russia, 6 percent said they want to remain part of Ukraine, 6 percent said they want to become independent, and 17 percent found it difficult to answer.

The poll was conducted on September 6, with 1,000 residents interviewed in each region by telephone. INSOMAR says its margin of error is 3.1 percent.

Kherson and Zaporozhye’s local administrations, appointed after the regions’ liberation by Russian forces, have spent months criticizing Kiev over the Ukrainian military’s indiscriminate shelling attacks, saying they regularly hit, damage, and destroy civilian infrastructure.

In the Zaporozhye region, whose administrative capital – the city of Zaporozhye, remains under Kiev’s control, authorities have similarly grumbled over the Ukrainian military’s activities, particularly its attacks on the city of Energodar – home to the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant – the largest NPP in Europe.

Tens of thousands of residents in each region have applied for Russian citizenship since it was made possible to do so in June. Last month, Zaporozhye administration chief Evgeny Balitsky announced that over 30,000 applications were being processed. Last week, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that over 8,000 residents of Zaporozhye had received Russian passports to date.

Both regions have also restored trade and transport ties with Crimea, and begun broadcasting Russian television and radio on their territory.

The Russian military and various parties, social movements, and charity organizations have delivered tens of thousands of tons of humanitarian assistance to the two regions over the past six months, including foodstuffs, toiletries, medicines, and other essentials. In mid-August, Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, the chief of the Russian military's interdepartmental coordination headquarters for humanitarian response, reported that the Russian military has delivered a total of over 55,390 tons of humanitarian aid since March.

On Sunday, former Russian Election Commission chief-turned-Foreign Ministry ambassador for special tasks, Vladimir Churov, told Sputnik that Kherson, Zaporozhye, and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics can ask Russia, the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and other institutions for bilateral or international assistance in holding any votes or elections on their territories.