DISINFO: Support for Zelensky below 20 percent among Ukrainians
SUMMARY
The degree of support for Volodymyr Zelenskyy fell to 17 percent and continues descending. Over 70 percent of the population do not trust any Ukrainian media, and around 90 percent would like to leave the country. Even among the Ukrainian Armed Forces, exposed to continuous indoctrination. Zelenskyy’s popularity does not reach above 20 percent.
RESPONSE
No evidence is provided to support these claims. These figures were presented by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service and are almost certainly made up. Multiple reputable surveys have rated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s approval at 81% in October 2023 (Gallup), at 62% in December 2023 (Kyiv International Institute of Sociology), at 60% in February 2024 (Kyiv International Institute of Sociology), and at 63% in April 2024 (USAID), numbers quite far away from the claims made by Russian media.
This disinformation story is part of a wider campaign to challenge the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a frequent target of pro-Kremlin disinformation, aiming to exploit the situation created by the expiration of his presidential mandate on 20 May 2024. For context, Ukrainian law prohibits the holding of presidential elections while under martial law. This was stipulated by the Ukrainian martial law passed in 2015, long before President Zelenskyy became the president of Ukraine in May 2019.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Zelenskyy is illegitimate and therefore Russia is directly fighting the West, that the prolonged war allows Zelenskyy and his junta to maintain their positions of power, that Zelenskyy and the Kyiv junta need to continue the war against Russia to enrich themselves with Western aid, or that Zelenskyy staged a coup d'état for fear of losing the 2024 presidential elections.