Only 18 Percent of Ukrainians Fully Trust Zelensky
The president has fallen to sixth place in trust ratings, with former armed forces chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi at the top.
The president has fallen to sixth place in trust ratings, with former armed forces chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi at the top.
Trust among the Ukrainian public in President Volodymyr Zelensky has significantly declined, according to a survey released on Thursday, August 6, 2026. The poll by the Sozis research institute placed Zelensky only sixth on the list of the country's most trusted leaders, overtaken by several senior military officials. The drop in popularity followed rare protests sparked by the dismissal of the defense minister.
The numbers are stark. Only 18 percent of respondents said they have full trust in the president. An additional 24.5 percent said they somewhat trust him, while 17 percent of respondents give him little trust. The most alarming figure for the presidential office is that as many as 37 percent of citizens do not trust Zelensky at all.
At the top is Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, former chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and current ambassador to the United Kingdom. He enjoys the full trust of 37.1 percent of respondents, with an additional 27.8 percent partially trusting him, making him by far the most popular figure in the country.
Zelensky's declining ratings come against the backdrop of rare protests that broke out in major Ukrainian cities in late July 2026. The trigger was the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov from the post of defense minister. Interestingly, Fedorov himself has also found his way to the top of the trust rankings, right behind Zaluzhnyi, alongside the commander of Ukraine's drone forces, Robert Brovdi.
The president also trails behind the new chief of the general staff, Mykhailo Drapatyi, and the head of his presidential office, Kyrylo Budanov. The results suggest a significant shift in public opinion, where the military leadership, including the dismissed minister, enjoys considerably more trust than the civilian political leadership headed by the president.