Around 57% of Ukrainians trust President Volodymyr Zelensky as of February, marking an increase of five percentage points since December, according to a survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) published on Feb. 19.
The poll, carried out between Feb. 4 and 9, was published shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump alleged that Zelensky holds a "4% approval rating" without providing a source to back his claim.
The latest survey shows that Zelensky continues to enjoy support from the majority of Ukrainians, even marking a slight increase in trust after a year of steady decline in popularity throughout 2024.
Around 37% of respondents said they do not trust the president, a two-point drop since December.
"If some international partners and allies are worried about the legitimacy of the President in the context of possible peace negotiations and consider it appropriate to insist on elections, then from the point of view of Ukrainian citizens themselves, there are no problems with this," said Anton Hrushetskyi, the executive director of KIIS.
According to the latest poll from Reuters published Feb. 19, Trump's own approval rating currently stands at 44%.
Kremlin propaganda 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.
The false allegation ignores the fact that the Ukrainian constitution prohibits elections during martial law, which went into effect after Russia launched the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Pushing to broker a quick peace deal, Trump has begun pressuring Ukraine to hold elections while blaming Zelensky's administration for the continuation of the war.
"That's not a Russia thing. That's something coming from me," Trump said on Feb. 18 about the need to hold elections in Ukraine, claiming that his views were not influenced by Moscow's narratives.
The KIIS survey was conducted by phone, with the participation of 1,000 respondents living in Ukraine-controlled territories.
Abbey Fenbert
