Volodymyr Zelenskiy has a 63% approval rating among Ukrainians, according to the latest surveys, contrary to President Donald Trump's claim that only 4% approve of Ukraine's president.
Trump's comment follows a dramatic shift on U.S. policy over Russia's war in Ukraine less than a month into his presidency.
"We have a situation where we haven't had elections in Ukraine; where we have martial law; where the leader of Ukraine - I hate to say it – but he's down at 4% approval rating," Trump said on February 18 without offering any evidence, after being asked whether the U.S. would support Ukraine having fresh elections.
However, a poll carried out by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) found 63% of Ukrainian respondents approved of Zelenskiy, up from 56% in May 2024.
The White House, contacted by Reuters, declined to comment.
The latest poll, part of a project funded by The British Academy, surveyed 1,600 people between November 2024 and January 2025. Asked whether they approve or disapprove of Zelenskiy's actions as president, 26.1% of respondents said they “completely approve” and 36.9% said they “tend to approve”.
Anton Hrushetskyi, director of KIIS, told Reuters that while similar, trust and approval are not identical concepts. He said a person can approve of someone's activities, but that does not necessarily mean that they trust them.
Olga Onuch, a professor in comparative and Ukrainian politics at the University of Manchester who worked with KIIS to produce the surveys, said in a statement on Wednesday: “Trump’s claim is not only factually incorrect, but also irresponsible and anti-democratic - Zelenskiy remains a fairly popular political leader in Ukraine. Spreading misinformation about his legitimacy directly aids Kremlin propaganda and undermines the Ukrainian people's right to determine their own future.”
The British Academy, the UK's national academy for humanities and social sciences, confirmed it had helped fund the survey but declined to comment further.
Trump did not source his claim that Zelenskiy had a 4% approval rating. However, a Ukrainian politician posted an anonymous poll on Telegram that same day, asking his subscribers if they would vote for Zelenskiy or "a mop" if elections were called the following day.
The same politician, who was detained in November 2023 on suspicion of treason for allegedly cooperating with Russia's military intelligence – allegations that he denied – later shared a screenshot showing that 3% of respondents voted for Zelenskiy.
VERDICT
False. Two separate surveys published in February 2025 found that 63% of Ukrainians polled approve of Zelenskiy and 57% trust him.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
