Levada Center: Almost half of Russians support annexing Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions

45 percent of Russians believe Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions should become part of Russia, according to a new survey from the independent Levada Center that was published by Novaya Gazeta Europe. 21 percent of respondents said they believe the regions should become independent states, while 14 percent said they should remain part of Ukraine.

Annexation of the territories found the most support among people older than 40. Among respondents who said they support the war in Ukraine, more than half said they want the territories to join Russia. Among those who said they don’t support the war, only about 20 percent support annexation.

54 percent of respondents said they approve of the Kremlin’s plans to conduct referendums in Ukraine's occupied territories, while 27 percent were indifferent. Only 14 percent expressed disapproval.

The majority (69 percent) of participants said they would support the regions becoming part of Russia if it passed a referendum. 20 percent said they would not want Russia to annex the territories even after a referendum.

Collaborationist officials in the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions have repeatedly said they intend to conduct referendums on the territories becoming part of Russia.

As Meduza has reported previously, Kremlin officials planned until recently to hold annexation referendums in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson territories, as well as in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics,” on September 11, which is Russia’s “single voting day.” Russian authorities expected to have established complete control over Ukraine’s Donetsk region by that date.

Meduza estimates that Russia currently controls about 60.25 percent of the Donetsk region — a number that hasn't grown much in recent weeks. According to sources close to the Putin administration, Russian authorities are now considering postponing the vote until the winter. The Kremlin hopes that Russian troops will be able to capture the entire Donetsk region by December or January while also maintaining control of its other occupied territories.