The Trust of the Ukrainians in Zelenskyy Is Not at 42%

Photo: president.gov.ua

There is no publicly accessible opinion poll in Ukraine which shows that the trust in the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy is 42 percent. Research by the Kyiv International Institute for Sociology shows that the public trust in Zelenskyy is 62 percent. However, Gallup’s recent research indicated that the trust of the Ukrainians in him is 81 percent, while 96 percent of the Ukrainians trusted the Army. The post also claims that Russia destroyed 1,500 healthcare facilities in Ukraine, without mentioning that some of them were restored or are in the process of restoration. In terms of the number of killed soldiers on the Ukrainian side, such data can only be based on an estimate, projection, or speculation, bearing in mind that Ukraine is not officially disclosing the number of killed or severely wounded soldiers

 

We are fact-checking a post on the social network Facebook (screenshot here) that says:

Is Zelenskyy’s popularity in Ukraine dropping?

The following text is shared in the post:

Fierce battles are ongoing in Eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian Health Ministry disclosed that Russian attacks damaged more than 1,500 healthcare facilities since the beginning of the war. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claims that Ukraine lost more than 215,000 people and 28,000 pieces of equipment last year. At the same time, he added that Ukrainian soldiers were exhausting their resources, with no result on the battlefield. Ukrainian operator of the electrical grid announced that more than a hundred villages and cities from nine regions were without electricity due to the poor weather conditions and the cold winter. The greatest concern of the Ukrainian authorities, however, is that Zelenskyy’s current popularity has dropped to 42 percent.

What is obvious about the article is that all the quoted sources are one-sided. The article quotes only the Russian side, claiming that Russian attacks had damaged more than 1,500 healthcare facilities since the beginning of the war.

The news about the 1,500 healthcare facilities damaged by Russia in the military invasion of Ukraine lacks the information that 474 of them were already restored, while 383 are partially rebuilt or are in the process of restoration. The post just specifies the number of damaged healthcare facilities, leaving the impression that they are out of use, which is not the case.

The post also quotes Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who claimed that Ukraine lost more than 215,000 people and 28,000 pieces of equipment last year. The fact is that Ukrainian authorities do not reveal official numbers regarding members of the Ukrainian Army who were killed or severely wounded in the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. That number of deceased and wounded is treated as a secret and, hence, it cannot be officially confirmed. All numbers of deceased and wounded people from both sides are just estimates or projections.

As specified by French Le Mond, the number of killed or wounded soldiers is one of the best-kept secrets since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This war is no exception, and handing over this sensitive information to the enemy, and demoralizing the population, is out of the question, stated Le Mond.

Therefore, the number of 215 thousand people that Ukraine, allegedly, lost in this war, cannot be confirmed.

The post fact-checked also claims – in its headline, without quoting a single source – that:

Most concerning for the Ukrainian authorities, however, is that Zelenskyy’s current popularity has dropped to 42 percent.

On 10 January 2024, Newsweek published an article presenting а poll i.e., а public opinion research performed by the Kyiv International Institute for Sociology at the end of 2023. It shows that the trust of Ukrainians in Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not 42 percent, as falsely claimed by the post fact-checked, but 62 percent. There is no poll, i.e. public opinion research whatsoever which tells that the public trust in the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy is 42 percent.

On 18 December 2023, Kyiv Independent published the results of the poll.

According to the poll, the public trust among the Ukrainians in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has declined over the past year, but an overwhelming majority of Ukrainians trust the military and its Commander-in-Chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

Trust in Zelenskyy declined to 62%, compared to 84% in December 2022. An overwhelming majority (96%) of respondents (96%) trust the military, a figure that has remained stable since December 2022. In addition, 88% said that they trust Zaluzhnyi, who was not included in previous editions of the poll, specified Kyiv Independent.

In the public opinion poll from October 2023, on the other hand, Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s rating in Ukraine is high, similar to that from the beginning of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. According to the Gallup data, respondents gave their answers in July and August 2023 – one and a half years after the military invasion – with more than 8 to 10 Ukrainians (81 percent) supporting their leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Due to all of the above-noted facts, we assess the claim that Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s rating is 42 percent as untrue. According to the latest opinion poll, his rating is 62 percent, while according to the opinion poll conducted several months before that, the percentage was 81. In addition, from 1,500 healthcare facilities damaged by Russia, 474 were fully restored, while 383 are in the process of restoration. The number of killed members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has not been publicly disclosed by Ukraine.

 

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