Protests Hit, Ratings Dip – Now What?

Man at a podium with Ukrainian flags — Photo: Mykola Tys / Shutterstock

New polling shows Ukrainian trust in President Volodymyr Zelensky slipping from wartime highs, raising fresh questions about delayed elections under martial law and what voters would decide if given a choice.

Story Snapshot

Surveys show Zelensky’s trust and approval fell from early-war peaks into the 50–60 percent range.
A Kyiv survey reported trust dropping to 52 percent by late 2024 as distrust climbed to 39 percent.
Ukraine’s parliament extended martial law, delaying elections that many Ukrainians accept for security reasons.
Polls do not directly test whether Zelensky would lose an election if one were held today.

Polls Chart A Clear Decline From Wartime Highs

Independent polling across 2024 and 2025 shows support shifting from a wartime surge to a lower, steadier band. Deutsche Welle reported approval near 53 percent in late 2024, with a small rise to 57 percent in early 2025. Reuters separately reported two February 2025 surveys with 63 percent approval and 57 percent trust. Gallup charted a broader arc: very high backing in 2023, a drop to about 60 percent in 2024, and stabilization in the mid-to-high 60s in 2025.

One Kyiv release said trust fell to 52 percent by the end of 2024, with distrust at 39 percent, confirming a cooling mood after early rally effects. Reuters later described trust dipping to 58 percent after protests in mid-2025, down from a springtime high of 74 percent that year. These results do not show a collapse, but they do show a meaningful comedown from the peak months of the war.

Martial Law Postpones Elections And Blurs The “Boot Him” Claim

Ukraine remains under martial law, and lawmakers extended it again in 2025. That move delays voting and keeps Zelensky in office until fighting conditions change, which many Ukrainians support for safety and legal reasons. Zelensky has argued on air that he is ready for elections but cannot hold them during active conflict for constitutional and security reasons. This means polls track opinions, but they do not equal a present-day ballot test.

Supporters cite steady majority numbers to defend legitimacy, while critics note the downtrend from the highs. The Kyiv Post highlighted a 63 percent approval reading, calling Zelensky the country’s most popular politician at that time. Fact checks also pushed back on extreme claims by pointing to majority-level approval and trust in early 2025. The bottom line: support softened, yet it generally stayed above 50 percent in major surveys.

What The Numbers Do—and Do Not—Say About A Hypothetical Vote

Surveys measure trust or job approval, not a head-to-head election. None of the cited polls asks, “Would you vote Zelensky out now?” That limits firm answers about an election outcome today. Still, trend lines matter. After anti-corruption protests in 2025, trust slid to 58 percent, showing strain in the public mood. A late 2024 finding at 52 percent trust with 39 percent distrust also points to a narrower cushion than during the early war phase.

‼️🇺🇦🏴‍☠

"He is fighting against everyone who supports peace in Ukraine": Zelensky imposes sanctions on his former press secretary for supporting Russia. 🤦‍♂

▪️Zelensky's office accused Yulia Mendel of spreading "disinformation and Russian propaganda," as well as supporting… https://t.co/lUpMSMOIIX pic.twitter.com/mcJhp8H954

— 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐙 🇷🇺 🇷🇸🇮🇪 (@SMO_VZ) September 13, 2026

For readers who want clean takeaways: the decline is real and sustained, even with rebounds; legitimacy arguments rest on martial law rules and public tolerance of delay; and no included poll proves voters would remove Zelensky if they had the chance. Those are the facts the data supports. For Americans weary of blank checks abroad, these results say Ukraine’s politics are tightening, oversight debates are sharpening, and patience has limits—just like here at home.