Trust in Zelenskyy holds steady at 61%, KIIS survey finds
As of early June, public trust in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy among Ukrainians has stabilised at 61%, while 73% say they trust Valerii Zaluzhnyi, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and current Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Source: a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) between 7 May and 3 June 2026
Details: According to the poll, 34% of respondents said they do not trust Zelenskyy, giving him a net trust rating of +27%.
KIIS noted that compared with April 2026, both trust and distrust levels towards the president remained virtually unchanged, within the margin of error, although his net trust score improved slightly from +22% to +27%.
Respondents were asked whether they "completely distrust", "rather distrust", "rather trust" or "completely trust" 18 different Ukrainian public figures, with the order of names randomised for each participant.
Among people associated with the defence sector, all recorded positive net trust ratings. The highest levels of trust were registered for Robert "Magyar" Brovdi, Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces (70% trust, 7% distrust, net +63%), Valerii Zaluzhnyi (73% trust, 21% distrust, net +52%) and Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine and former head of Defence Intelligence (70% trust, 22% distrust, net +48%).
They were followed by Andrii Biletskyi, Commander of the 3rd Army Corps, whom 49% of respondents trust and 12% distrust, giving him a net trust rating of +38%.
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi is trusted by 52% of respondents and distrusted by 36%, resulting in a net trust score of +16%.
"There is a correlation, albeit weak, that the later we asked about V. Zelenskyy, the higher the trust in him. Perhaps, against the background of other figures (when respondents think about other figures), V. Zelenskyy is perceived a little better. That is, although formally now the indicators of trust are slightly higher than in April, it is more correct, taking into account the factors described above, to speak about stability," sociologists noted.
KIIS also noted that the overall trust figure masks differences in the intensity of respondents' views. Of the 61% who trust Zelenskyy, 33% said they trust him "completely", while a further 28% said they "rather trust" him. Among those who do not trust the president, 20% said they "completely distrust" him and 13% said they "rather distrust" him.
Among the politicians and public figures included in the survey, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov recorded the highest net trust rating, with 52% of respondents expressing trust and 19% distrust, resulting in a net score of +32%. He was followed by Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who is trusted by 50% and distrusted by 21% (net +29%), and Vitalii Kim, Head of Mykolaiv Oblast Military Administration, who is trusted by 47% and distrusted by 27% (net +20%).
For reference: The KIIS survey was conducted between 7 May and 3 June 2026 using telephone interviews based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers across all Ukrainian regions under government control. A total of 1,015 respondents aged 18 and over who were residing in government-controlled territory at the time of the survey were interviewed.
Under normal circumstances, the statistical margin of error does not exceed 4.1% for indicators close to 50%, 3.5% for those around 25%, 2.5% for those around 10%, and 1.8% for those around 5%, with a 95% confidence level and a design effect of 1.3.
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