This article is the third in a series based on Gallup’s latest surveys in Ukraine. In 2023 and 2024, some occupied territories with entrenched Russian control were excluded because of lack of coverage by Ukrainian mobile operators. The exclusion represents approximately 10% to 12% of the population.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- More than two years into a grueling war with Russia, Ukrainians are losing faith in their president and the national government. While their trust still is higher than it was in most years before the war started, both have eroded more than 15 percentage points since 2023.
Six in 10 Ukrainians surveyed in August 2024 approved of the job President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is doing. While Zelenskyy’s rating continues to be higher than in 2020 and 2021 (41% in both years), his current approval rating is down from levels north of 80% in the first two years of the war.
Despite the decline, twice as many Ukrainians overall continue to approve rather than disapprove of Zelenskyy, and he remains far more popular than his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko.
The recent drop is evident among all demographic groups and broad geographic regions, but it is steepest (falling from 84% in 2023 to 56% this year) among residents of Ukraine’s East, the region closest to the front line of the war.
The 19-point drop in Ukrainians’ confidence in the national government over the past year is similar to the magnitude of the decline in Zelenskyy’s approval rating. Sixty percent of Ukrainians expressed trust in the national government at the start of the war, falling to 47% in 2023 and 28% today.
Over the past decade, Ukrainians have been more likely to approve than disapprove of their government only once -- in 2022, in the months after the invasion.
Confidence in Other Institutions Remains High
The declines in confidence in government and approval of the president are not mirrored in Ukrainians’ views of all key national institutions. The military continues to enjoy near-universal support among Ukrainians, as it has done since Russia’s invasion.
Similarly, Ukrainians’ record-high confidence in their financial institutions is holding strong during the third year of the war. After the initial systemic shock and economic downturn caused by the war in 2022, Ukraine’s economy stabilized, and inflation slowed down. While a nation’s economic outlook is always uncertain in times of war, the relative stability of Ukraine’s economy during this period likely contributes to the continued confidence that 62% of Ukrainians have in their financial system this year.
Bottom Line
Gallup World Poll surveys in 2022 found Ukrainians rallying together against the external threat to their nation. Domestic divisions faded into the background, and support for the country’s leaders, institutions and the war effort united the country. In 2023, this unity remained strong overall, although some national institutions began to experience a moderate decline in public confidence.
This year, the decline intensified, with war fatigue and an uncertain future taking its toll on the national mood. While Ukrainians continue to rate their political leadership better than they did before the war, they are no longer expressing record-high approval of Zelenskyy or the national government.
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