Ukraine's Unrest Rages on: Ukrainians 'Say' What They Really Want

Based on recent reports, Ukraine's unrest resulted to more fatalities and intense cases of violence. Despite efforts to quell the ongoing conflicts, military troops from both sides still exchange fire in various regions of Ukraine.

Recently, Ukraine's and Russia's foreign ministers negotiated about the unrest. But to no avail, both parties didn't conclude any diplomatic solution. Since efforts continuously fail at the moment, both sides will try to resume further negotiations in the coming days.

So far, Ukraine's "anti-terrorism" operations are literally underfire facing the "Pro-Russian" forces in the east. As the number of casualties continues to add up, there is still no certainty when the killings of rebels, government troops and even civilians will stop.

Amid the political crisis, it may have been overlooked by the Ukrainian and Russian governments and the world what the Ukrainians really want for their country.

Crimea's Attorney General Prosecutor Natalya Poklonskaya, who is not directly involved in Ukraine's unrest, once said in an interview, "The Constitution says that the only power in Ukraine - and I repeat - the only power in Ukraine is its people."

A recent poll conducted by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology gave everyone an overview of what the Ukrainians currently think about their tension-filled nation. This poll was participated by Ukrainians living in the southeastern regions and other nearby cities.

Here are the participants' responses related to Ukraine's current issues:

Majority of the participants believes that current Acting Ukraine Pres. Oleksandr Turchynov is illegitimately designated. Only 16.6 percent of them thought Pres. Turchynov deserves the position while 32.1 percent thought otherwise.

Regarding Ukraine's current Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenuk, a similar response was received as 17 percent thought it is legal while 32 percent said it's not.

An almost equal response was given about the legality of Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's Supreme Council. The poll takers answered 20.7 percent "yes" and 23.3 percent said "no."

In line with the legality issues, they were asked if the impeached president for Ukraine Viktor Yakunovych should be the legal president. Only 10.1 percent answered "yes," while "no" are up to 51.7 percent.

They were also asked who they thought is responsible for the casualties at the Maidan in February. In this poll, only the southeastern people were able to voice their opinion.

- Viktor Yanukovych: 45.1 percent
- Party of Regions: 17.2 percent
- Law Enforcement Agencies: 8.2 percent
- Protesters: 10.3 percent
- Opposition Leaders: 37.5 percent
- Occident (the Western World): 18.4 percent
- Russia: 4.8 percent

The response blaming Russia for the troubles were quite low, while 11.1 and 28.5 percent were pointing to the Western nations. More of the Ukrainians also thought a civil war is possible if not already happening. 46 percent of the people generally said "yes," while 32.7 percent said "no."

Finally, when it comes to what the participants think about the Pro-Russian group in Ukraine, the same percentage of 46 percent supports the Russian troops, compared to 32.7 percent who doesn't.

This poll only covered the predominant Russian part of Ukraine and is considered only a minority of the whole country. Based on the response, the blame for the casualties in February was pointed at the Western nations rather than Russia. According to Viable Opposition, a blog that posted the results of the poll,

"It is also interesting to see that a substantial majority of respondents oppose the introduction of Russian troops into Ukraine and that nearly three-quarters of respondents would like to see Russia and Ukraine remain independent but friendly neighbors."