KIEV, March 12. /TASS/. The number of Ukrainians that positively or very positively view Russia increased by 9% in February, up to 57%, according to a poll carried out by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology.

"In February 2019, 57% of Ukrainians in Ukraine were positively or very positively inclined toward Russia, while 27% thought poorly or very poorly of it, 17% did not have a clear position; 77% Ukrainians positively treated Russian citizens, and 13% Russia’s authorities," the poll says.

That said, Russians treat Ukrainians better than Ukrainians treat Russians (82% of Russians positively treat Ukrainians, 7% of Russians are positive about Ukraine’s authorities).

Sociologists found that almost 90% of the population believe that Ukraine should be an independent state. That said, compared with February 2018, the number of those wishing to close the border with Russia decreased from 44% to 39%, and the number of those wishing for independent relations, without borders and customs, grew from 44% to 48%.

The number of people in Russia wishing to close the border with Ukraine also decreased from 39% to 25% as compared with March 2018.

The Kiev International Institute of Sociology carried out the poll on February 8-20, with 2,042 respondents aged over 18 living in 110 Ukrainian communities interviewed personally. The margin of error does not exceed 3.3%.

The Levada Analytical Center carried out the poll in Russia. From February 15 to 20 sociologists questioned 1,600 people aged over 18 living in 137 communities in 50 Russian regions. The margin of error is not more than 3.4%.