Nearly 50pc Ukrainians ready to take up arms: poll

Nearly half of Ukrainians aged 18-55 are ready to fight to defend their country against Russia, a poll conducted by a Norwegian research centre suggested on Saturday.

Around 70 percent percent of men and 30 percent of women said they were willing to take up arms, according to the survey carried out by the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (Prio) with the help of local pollsters Info Sapiens.

Surveyed March 9-12, during the third week of the conflict, the respondents answered online questions about their attitudes to four types of resistance.

When presented with the statement, "If the war continues, I will help the resistance by joining direct military combat in open battles against the Russian or pro-Russian forces", 49 percent responded positively.