Thirty-eight percent of Russians are not expecting a profound change in Russia-Ukraine relations in the near future, while 57 percent are hopeful of an improvement several years from now, the Public Opinion Foundation has said.

Thirty-eight percent of Russians are not expecting a profound change in Russia-Ukraine relations in the near future, while 57 percent are hopeful of an improvement several years from now, the Public Opinion Foundation has said.

Twenty-seven percent argue that the relations may deteriorate soon, and 22 percent stick to the opposite opinion. Twelve percent are undecided. The foundation polled 1,000 respondents on the phone on May 30-31.

Seven percent expect an exacerbation of Russia-Ukraine relations to happen over several years, and 16 percent are not expecting any significant change. Twenty-one percent failed to make a long-term forecast.

As to the future of Ukraine, Russians doubt its ability to join the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia (57 percent), the European Union (67 percent) or NATO (61 percent). The opposite answers were given by 21 percent, 14 percent and 20 percent of respondents, respectively.

Some 92 percent of Russians are monitoring Ukrainian events to one degree or another. Their main sources of information are television (83 percent) and the Internet (37 percent). Russians think that domestic media gives as much information about Ukraine as they need (62 percent) and that this information is impartial (64 percent).

The truce declared by the February agreements in Minsk is frequently marred, primarily, by Ukrainian servicemen, said two-thirds of the respondents (66 percent). Five per cent pointed the finger at the militias of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, and 15 percent said violations were committed by both sides.

In the opinion of 47 percent of Russians, the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics will eventually become independent states or a single country. Fourteen percent are expecting their broad autonomy within Ukraine, and 13 percent think that the DPR and the LPR will stay within Ukraine on the same terms as the other regions.

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