KIIS published its research after Trump's statement about Zelenskyy's low rating

Following US President Donald Trump's statements about Volodymyr Zelenskyy's low approval rating, a new study on trust in the Ukrainian president has been published.

According to a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, 57% of Ukrainians trust Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

KIIS studied the dynamics of trust in the president from 2019 to 2025. Thus, as of the first half of February 2025, 57% of Ukrainians trust Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while 37% do not. The balance of trust and distrust is +20%.

It is indicated that the trust indicators have slightly improved compared to the last poll in December 2024, when Volodymyr Zelenskyy was trusted by 52%, distrusted by 39%, and the balance of trust and distrust was +13%.

In contrast, according to KIIS, in September last year, the balance of trust and distrust was +22%, in May +23%, in February +29%, in December 2023 +55%, and in May 2022 +83%, meaning that it showed a downward trend until the end of last year, after which the trend reversed for the first time.

The balance of trust and distrust is also positive in all regions of Ukraine. By region, the data are as follows: in the southern and eastern regions, 55% of Ukrainians trust him, in the central regions 62%, and in the western regions 57%.

The survey was conducted on 4-9 February 2025 by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS). The method of telephone interviews (computer-assisted telephone interviews, CATI) based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers (with random generation of phone numbers and subsequent statistical weighting) in all regions of Ukraine (government-controlled territory) was used to interview 1000 respondents. The survey was conducted with adult citizens of Ukraine (aged 18 and older) who resided in the territory of Ukraine controlled by the Government of Ukraine at the time of the survey. The sample did not include residents of the territories temporarily not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities (although some respondents were IDPs who moved from the occupied territories), and the survey was not conducted with citizens who moved abroad after 24 February 2022.

It is worth noting that during Donald Trump's briefing following the talks between the US and Russian delegations in Saudi Arabia, he said that the level of support for Volodymyr Zelenskyy had allegedly fallen to a record low of 4%.

As a reminder, Russian-American talks ended in Riyadh on 18 February. The parties agreed on a three-stage peace plan for Ukraine. Ukraine was not involved in the meeting.

On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he would postpone his visit to Saudi Arabia because of the talks between Russia and the United States in Riyadh.

In addition, US President Donald Trump, commenting on Ukraine's absence from the meeting in Saudi Arabia, said that it «should not have started» the war, and that peace could have been negotiated in three years.