23.02.2022, Rostov-on-Don.
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognizing the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s republics. Correspondents of Rossa Primavera News Agency took to the streets of Rostov-on-Don to find out the opinion of Russian citizens on the recognition of the DPR and LPR.
The overwhelming majority of respondents were very positive about Russia’s recognition of the Donbas republics. Many said it should have been done even earlier.
“This is very good. It should have been done a long time ago – back in 2014,” this response from one passerby was very typical.
“It’s better for us, we support it. Because people have already been in this state for quite a long time. I hope there won’t be a war, and if there is already a plan, then it will come to this peacefully,” similar responses were also quite frequent.
Many passersby also said that Russia should help the residents of Donbass and, if necessary, protect them.
“I think this is a very good event. We are neighbors. We are closest friends – brothers, Slavs. We should support each other. I don’t think our lives are going to change, but it will change for the better in Donbass,” said the townswoman.
“We have to protect our brothers from the Lugansk region, from the DPR, from the LPR. Because they need help, and Russia is a benevolent country and can provide it,” a young man expressed a similar point of view.
Only a couple of people had a negative attitude toward the recognition of the DPR and LPR. They said that it would worsen relations between Russia and the West, and that the Donbass was “part of Ukraine.”
However, most people disagreed with them, especially those who have relatives living in Donbass or on the border.
“My parents live on the border. In fact, the last few days were uneasy, I called them several times a day, and when they didn’t answer, panic set in. And now, they say, silence,” the girl said, adding that the recognition of the republics would benefit everyone.
Another young man, who also supported the recognition of the republics of Donbass, noted that the West needs Ukraine only to put pressure on Russia.
“Of course, positively [I think about the recognition of the DPR and LPR – Rossa Primavera News Agency]. I hope that this decision will be developed further. Western governments have not reacted well… I am sure that they (in particular, the USA) will not even show Ukraine on the map, because Ukraine is just a pretext for them to impose sanctions on Russia once again,” he said.
Since the beginning of the evacuation of Donbas residents, which the authorities of the republics announced on February 18 because of the threat of Kiev’s aggression, many refugees from the DPR and LPR have arrived in the Rostov Region.
Many residents of the republics had moved to the region even earlier. A young man from Donbass, a student in Rostov-on-Don, was found among passersby. He was very happy to confess.
“I am from Lugansk. I have a good attitude. So much so that, like Crimea, we wanted to be taken into Russia. So it would be chic if that happened,” he said, while expressing hope that the situation would improve there after the recognition of the republics.
In general, it turned out that the residents of Rostov-on-Don are happy about the recognition of the DPR and LPR. They believe that Russia will be able to help them and life there will change for the better.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency