Ukrainians Trust President Zelensky, Despite Pressure from Trump
According to a recent survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), around 57% of Ukrainians trust President Volodymyr Zelensky. This is an increase of five percentage points since December.
The poll was carried out between February 4 and 9, just after US President Donald Trump made claims that Zelensky had a low approval rating of 4%. However, Trump did not provide any source to back up his claim.
Despite the pressure from Trump, Zelensky continues to enjoy support from the majority of Ukrainians. The survey shows a slight increase in trust for the president after a year of steady decline in popularity.
Only around 37% of respondents said they do not trust the president, which is a two-point drop since December. This suggests that many Ukrainians still believe Zelensky is doing a good job as president.
The KIIS survey was conducted by phone and involved 1,000 respondents living in Ukraine-controlled territories.
In response to Trump’s claims, Anton Hrushetskyi, the executive director of KIIS, said that Ukrainian citizens themselves have no problems with Zelensky’s legitimacy. He noted that the Ukrainian constitution prohibits elections during martial law, which went into effect after Russia launched a full-scale invasion in 2022.
The Kremlin has pushed the narrative that Zelensky is an illegitimate leader, relying on the premise that his first presidential term was originally meant to end on May 20, 2024. However, this ignores the fact that elections cannot be held during martial law.
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