Ukrainian majority supports EuroMaidan, which will call for national strike

More than 50 percent of Ukrainians support the EuroMaidan protests, while 42 percent oppose it, according to a poll conducted of 2,010 respondents by the Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Fund and Razumkov Center in Kyiv between Dec. 20 and 24. The protest demands were supported by 45 percent of respondents, compared to 36 percent who were opposed. About 62 percent said Ukraine’s current political situation is tense and an additional 30 percent agreed with the description of “critical, explosive.”

Opposition leaders told the EuroMaidan on Dec. 29 that they plan to call a national strike following the Jan. 7 Christmas holiday. Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform Chair Vitali Klitschko said the opposition won’t dissolve the Maidan in the new year and will keep occupied Kyiv’s Independence Square and City Council building.

Hundreds of protesters from the EuroMaidan conducted a motorcade on Dec. 29, visiting the suburban mansions of top government leaders. They gave speeches, chanted slogans and in some cases, spray painted slogans on fences, even ruining them.

Zenon Zawada: Though there’s much disagreement on what tactics of the EuroMaidan are effective and what tactics aren’t, the polls demonstrate that a slim majority of Ukrainians disagree with the course of the current government and see the need for radical measures to stop it (such as the EuroMaidan). Protesting at the mansions of top government officials will infuriate them even further, as evidenced by their reactions.

We see a national strike as having the most potential to undermine the current government. If enough people participate, it would be the most effective tool in forcing its resignation. However, predicting whether enough Ukrainians will take the risk of losing their jobs by participating in a strike is not possible at this point.