President Volodymyr Zelensky has seen his approval ratings further eroded at a critical time for the Ukrainian army and as uncertainty grows over future international military aid, new polling showed on Tuesday.
The former comedian won respect abroad and drew comparisons with Winston Churchill when he stayed in Kyiv in February 2022 to steer his country against the Russian invasion.
A survey released on Tuesday by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) showed that Ukrainians’ trust in their leader had fallen to 52 percent as of December last year, compared to 90 percent in March 2022, just weeks after Russia invaded.
Just seven percent of respondents in March 2022 said they actively did not trust the 46-year-old leader. That figure has since grown to 39 percent, the poll showed.
“The weakening of trust in Zelensky indeed reduces his future potential and weight as a public figure,” said the institute’s executive director, Anton Grushetsky, in an analytical note.
He said this also dealt a “critical blow” to the institution of the presidency.