Over half of Ukrainians willing to take up arms if Russia invades again, according to poll
Fifty-six percent of Ukrainians are ready to join the Territorial Defense Forces if there is a renewed Russian offensive in Ukraine, according to poll results published by the Ukraine Future Institute think tank on Jan. 25.
Of those 56%, 37 percent said they were “likely” to enlist in the TDF, with 19% saying they will “definitely” enlist if there is a Russian invasion. At the other end of the spectrum, 16% said they would “definitely not” enlist, with 28% saying they were “unlikely” to join the TDF.
The 45 year-old and above age cohort was the most determined about taking up arms to defend the country – 63% of them were either “likely” to enlist or “definitely” would enlist.
The regional breakdown of willingness to defend the country is as follows:
· North – 54%
· Center – 57%
· East – 39%
· West – 62%
· South – 65%
· Kyiv – 56%
The Ukraine Future Institute polled 1,200 individuals between Jan. 1 and Jan. 23. The poll was conducted via an online interactive questionnaire among the adult Ukrainian population. The margin of error is 2.89% with a confidence level of 0.95.
A Russian troop buildup that began in late autumn on the Ukrainian border was first widely reported in early December 2021, with several media outlets speculating that Russia might invade Ukraine with a force of 175,000 troops in early 2022.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov has said that a renewed Russian offensive in Ukraine may occur in late January 2022.
The situation on Ukraine's eastern border is a matter of deep concern for both U.S. and EU officials. According to U.S. President Joe Biden, the White House is looking at a range of options to dissuade Russia from a potential attack on Ukraine.
On Jan. 14, the White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated that the United States has evidence of Russia planning to conduct various false flag operations in Donbas.
Corroborated by the Pentagon, Psaki said that Moscow sent operatives, trained in explosives and urban combat, into eastern Ukraine, to be used to stage false flag operations that could give Putin a pretext to once again invade Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military intelligence has revealed that Russian proxy forces have restarted a chemical plant in occupied territory, formerly infamous for causing semi-regular environmental catastrophes, and have imported leaky barrels of ammonia for as-yet-unknown purposes.
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