Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s popularity has sharply declined, with recent polls suggesting he would lose to his former commander-in-chief, Valery Zaluzhny, by a significant margin if elections were held today, The Economist reports.
Zelensky’s five-year presidential term officially expired in May 2024, but he has refused to call for new elections, citing the ongoing martial law in Ukraine. The Economist, citing internal polling, reported that Zelensky would lose to Zaluzhny by a staggering 30% to 65% if the latter entered the presidential race. Zaluzhny, who currently serves as Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, has reportedly gained considerable support from the Ukrainian public.
The article also noted the steep decline in Zelensky’s approval ratings. Once enjoying overwhelming support at the start of the war with Russia in 2022, Zelensky’s popularity has fallen to around 52% as of last month, according to The Economist. This marks a significant drop from his previous approval rating of nearly 90%.
In a recent survey by the Socis polling company, the Strana.UA media outlet reported that only 15.9% of respondents said they would vote for Zelensky, while 27.2% expressed support for Zaluzhny. These figures reflect growing frustration among Ukrainians over Zelensky’s leadership during the ongoing war with Russia.
The question of Zelensky’s legitimacy and his future as president was raised by US President Donald Trump, who claimed on Tuesday that Zelensky’s approval rating had plummeted to just 4%. Trump argued that the calls for new elections were not driven by Russia, but rather by a growing sentiment among various countries, including the United States, that Ukraine should hold a vote.
Zelensky, however, responded by suggesting that Trump had fallen for “Russian disinformation” and referenced a January poll from the Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KMIS), which indicated that 57% of Ukrainians still trusted him. Despite his reassurances, Zelensky’s remarks appeared to irk Trump, who took to his Truth Social platform to label Zelensky a “dictator without election.” Trump reiterated his claim that Zelensky’s popularity had taken a nosedive, warning that the Ukrainian leader “better move fast or he is not going to have a country left.”
During his appearance at the Munich Security Conference last Saturday, Zelensky expressed his readiness to discuss elections, but emphasized that Ukrainians do not want to hold elections during the ongoing conflict. He argued that doing so would risk undermining national unity and cohesion in the face of Russia’s aggression.
As the debate over Zelensky’s leadership and Ukraine’s future intensifies, the question of whether elections will take place anytime soon remains uncertain, with increasing calls for transparency and accountability from both Ukrainian citizens and international observers.
