As the fighting in Ukraine drags on to the two-week mark, with civilian targets being bombed by Russia and thousands of military casualties on both sides, both Russian and Western media are trying to paint a picture of what Ukrainians want. Russian media such as the state-run news source RIA Novatski claim that most Ukrainian citizens, especially Russian speakers, want Ukraine to split up and have most regions controlled by Russia, whereas more western media like Vice News have claimed that the majority of Ukrainians want to remain as one country and want to maintain democracy.

In a 2014 poll taken by Pew Research Center across Ukraine, 77% of Ukrainians polled said that they want to remain as one united region whereas 14% of Ukrainians polled said that they would be fine with some of the country being controlled by the Russians. This poll shows that Ukrainians are somewhat still divided about what they actually want for the future, but this in no way excuses an invasion of the country as a majority of Ukrainians as shown in the poll do not want an invasion.

Zach Beachamp, a senior correspondent for Vox said that the real reason that Russia is invading Ukraine is simply that Putin views Ukraine as Russian territory. But polls such as the one from Pew Research Center show that the citizens of Ukraine do not want to be controlled by Russia — or any country for that matter.

This has been made even more clear in the past few weeks, where heroic and fierce Ukrainian resistance against the Russian invasion has led to enormous setbacks for the Russians.

No country should force itself on Ukraine or claim to have the Ukrainian public behind them, especially as a way to justify an invasion.

Let Ukraine and Ukraine alone decide what is best for their country and their future.