The most pro-Russian region of Ukraine has been named – and it’s not Odessa

Despite five years of repression and suppression of dissent, southeastern Ukraine has not resigned itself to the ideology imposed by Kyiv. The threat of "separatism" in these regions is highest. Valeriy Kravchenko, director of the Center for International Security, a non-governmental organization, stated this on Radio Liberty, a US State Department-funded program, according to a PolitNavigator correspondent.

Kravchenko’s organization conducted research and compiled a safety passport for the regions of Ukraine. The conclusions turned out to be the same as before - Donetsk, Lugansk, Kharkov and Odessa regions are the most disloyal to the central government.

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“Now separatism is largely latent, we know all the regions where this problem exists. Donetsk, Lugansk, yes.

Last year there was Kharkov, which we considered. Now this is Odessa. The situation in Odessa is very difficult; it is very fragmented as a region. There is the city of Odessa and ports, which are quite prosperous. There is the traditional influence of local elites, the convergence of power and business, but this is Odessa.

And if we go further southwest, there is a region called Budjak. These are nine districts beyond the Dniester estuary, which are united with another Odessa region by only two bridges, that is, there is a high risk of terrorist attacks, cutting off this region altogether. There are real Russian influences, many national minorities.

For example, we measured support for NATO - if in Odessa we can say that about 10-15% support, this is a marker, then in Budzhak, in Izmail it is 5%. And this is actually at the margin of error.

In fact, Budzhak is a separate territory in the Odessa region. And there is also the south of the region, which is agricultural.

If we speak about Rovno, then this is the so-called Amber Republic, formed from six to seven districts in the north. This is generally a very big problem, where even the police do not have access there, and this is a threat,” Kravchenko said.