New poll shows Zelenskyy's approval dips 5 points in Ukraine after departure of General Zaluzhnyi

Trust in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy decreased by about 5 percentage points immediately after Valerii Zaluzhnyi stepped down as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to the Omnibus public opinion poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology and published on Feb. 15.

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The survey was conducted during the period of Zaluzhnyi’s dismissal saga: from Feb. 5 to 10. The average rate of trust in Zelenskyy over this period is 64%, and distrust stands at 35%. Towards the end of the survey, on Feb. 9-10, after the change of the army chief, trust in the head of state decreased.

"Thus, in general, for the period of Feb. 5-10, 64% trusted Mr. Zelenskyy, but at the end of this period, the figure was 60%," the KIIS said.

Before Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, 37% of the population trusted Zelenskyy. After the invasion, his trust skyrocketed to 90% as of May 2022. From this period until December, the figure dropped to 77%, after which it continued to decline gradually.

Among political and public figures, Ukrainians trust the following the most:

• Valerii Zaluzhnyi - 94%;

• Kyrylo Budanov - 66%;

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy - 64%;

• Serhiy Prytula - 61%;

• Oleksandr Syrskyi - 40%.

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Ukrainians distrust Yuriy Boyko, Yulia Tymoshenko, and Oleksiy Arestovych the most, with trust scores of 10%, 17%, and 11%, respectively.

The survey was conducted on Feb. 5-10, 2024, and included questions about Zaluzhnyi's possible dismissal. A random sample of 1,202 respondents living in all regions of Ukraine (except for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, residents of the temporarily occupied territories, and Ukrainians abroad) were interviewed by telephone using a computer.

The statistical error did not exceed 3.2% for indicators close to 50%; 2.7% for indicators close to 25%; 2.1% for indicators close to 10%; 1.4% for indicators close to 5%.

The Razumkov Center think tank released a survey on Feb. 7 showing that 69% of citizens trusted the president. He was ahead of other politicians in terms of public trust.

A poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, published on Dec. 19, showed that 77% of Ukrainians trusted Zelenskyy, while 22% did not.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine