(Adnkronos) – Ukrainians’ trust in President Volodymyr Zelensky has fallen from 65% in June to 58% in early August. This is revealed by a new poll published by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology and commissioned to the institute on July 23, the day after Zelensky signed the controversial law subordinating Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies to the attorney general. The bill sparked mass protests, international criticism and accusations that the president’s government was undermining reforms implemented after the EuroMaidan movement protests.
In response to mounting public pressure and warnings from Brussels, Zelensky changed course, signing a new law on July 31 that restored the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). Despite the reversal, the scandal appears to have damaged the president’s approval rating. The percentage of Ukrainians who do not trust Zelensky has grown from 30% in June to 35% in August, bringing the overall trust balance from +35% to +23%, according to the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.
The institute noted that trust in Zelensky remains above the lowest levels recorded during the full-scale war, which occurred in December 2024. Pollsters asked respondents who expressed distrust to explain their reasons. The most common answers concerned dissatisfaction with the state of corruption, mainly with systemic corruption, rather than personal accusations against Zelensky. About 6% directly attributed the loss of trust to the July 22 vote.
