Only 4% of Ukrainians consider Russia as destination for work or permanent residence – poll

Only 4% of Ukrainians consider Russia as a destination for work or permanent residence.

That's according to a survey by the Ukrainian Institute for the Future (UIF) with the assistance of New Image Marketing Group, presented at a Kyiv press conference on Monday.

Read alsoInternational demand for Ukrainian labor force up 40%A third of the respondents over the past year considered moving abroad for work or permanent residence. At the same time, 64% never thought about it.

In the west of the country, 39% of respondents say they would move abroad, while in Donbas there was 24% of such respondents.

UIF Executive Chief Vadym Denisenko said 14% of the respondents are clearly set to move out of Ukraine to permanently reside in another country, while 20% seek to work abroad for a certain period before returning home.

Those who would like to move abroad consider the EU (65%) as their primary option, followed by the U.S. (10%) and Canada (9%). Only 4% of the respondents consider Russia as a primary destination for work or permanent residence, and 2% see as such CIS countries, except for Russia.

"This is a dramatic change that's been taking place over the past years. That is, in fact, immigration to Russia is no longer considered as one of the key options for moving abroad, primarily for residents of eastern Ukraine," Denisenko said.

*** The survey was conducted on March 3-13. Some 2,400 respondents aged 18 and older were polled in face-to-face interviews in all regions but the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas. The margin of error is within 2.05%.