Almost 60% of Ukrainians trust President Volodymyr Zelensky – survey

According to the survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), 59% of Ukrainian citizens expressed their trust in the head of state, Volodymyr Zelensky, during September-October 2024. On the other hand, 37% stated that they did not trust him. These numbers have remained relatively stable since May 2024.

The KIIS survey evidences this.

According to sociologists, 80% of Ukrainians trusted Zelensky after the 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections. However, as of February 2022, the level of trust has gradually declined to 37% (and on the eve of the Russian invasion, there were already more people who did not trust him).

After the war began, the level of trust went up to 90%. However, by December 2023, it had dropped to 77%. In February 2024, it decreased even further to 64%; by May 2024, it had fallen to 59%.

At the same time, between May and September 2024, the indicators almost did not change.

As Anton Hrushetsky, deputy director of KIIS, noted, there is currently a relatively high level of trust in President Zelensky in Ukraine, "especially taking into account the difficulties of wartime, the uncertain future and possible individual unsuccessful actions of the ruling team."

"At the same time, the situation is very dynamic, and already a significant part of the population is swaying from trust to distrust depending on current events and decisions of the president and his team," he said.

According to him, it is clear that "many aspects of the internal and external situation are beyond the control of the president and his team, but to preserve the current indicators of trust and legitimacy in general, it is necessary to maintain transparent and sincere communication with society."

The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted its survey from September 20 to October 3, 2024, among 2,004 respondents. The sample did not include residents of territories that are temporarily not controlled by the authorities of Ukraine.

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It should be noted that, according to the survey conducted by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in May 2024, Ukrainians' trust in government institutions has dropped significantly over the past year. Ukrainians have the highest level of trust in their armed forces, with 91% of respondents expressing confidence in them.

At the same time, 24% of respondents trust the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, and 38% do not trust him. 20% trust the government as a whole, 43% do not trust it.

16% of respondents trust the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, 46% do not trust him. 11% trust the Verkhovna Rada as a whole, 56% do not.

As previously reported, as of January 2024, Ukrainian citizens continued to trust:

• President Volodymyr Zelensky,
• Vitalii Kim, the head of the Mykolaiv region,
• Serhii Prytula, the head of the charitable organization Prytula Foundation,
• and Dmytro Kuleba, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the end of December 2023, sociologists recorded the growth of a critical attitude towards Ukraine's authorities. Confidence in the president has slightly decreased but remains at an unambiguously positive level. A rather small proportion of respondents have polarized views.

As Rubryka wrote earlier, the results of the survey in February-March 2023 showed that among politicians and public figures, Volodymyr Zelensky is the most trusted by Ukrainian citizens, followed by Serhii Prytula, Mykhailo Podoliak, Vitalii Klychko, and Oleksii Danilov, with a significant difference.