The Daily Populous Thursday February 20th, 2025 day edition
Authored by manchester.ac.uk and submitted by nectarine_pie

After US President Donald Trump falsely claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s approval rating stands at a mere 4%, experts including Professor Olga Onuch of The University of Manchester have pointed to their polling which puts his approval rating at 63% - making him the most popular politician in the country.

Trump’s remarks come at a critical moment when US and Russian officials are engaging in discussions - without Ukrainian representation - about ending the full-scale invasion. These talks are validating some of Ukrainians' worst fears: negotiations that concede to Vladimir Putin’s demands, undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty, and rewarding Russian aggression. Trump’s comments only add fuel to this narrative by attempting to delegitimise Ukraine’s leadership while strengthening Putin’s position.

Professor Onuch - alongside colleagues Professor Henry Hale of George Washington University, Volodymyr Kulyk of The Kyiv School of Economics and Gwendolyn Sasse of Humbolt University and ZOiS - has conducted extensive surveys in Ukraine since 2014. Their work, carried out in partnership with the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, offers a clear picture of Ukrainian public sentiment.

According to their latest findings, 63% of Ukrainians approve of Zelensky’s performance as president, a notable increase from the previous year. Additionally, large majorities view him as a patriot (74%), an intelligent and knowledgeable leader (73%), and a strong figure guiding the country through war (65%).

The notion that Zelensky is deeply unpopular is not only inaccurate - according to the researchers, it is a blatant attempt to distort reality in favour of Russia’s geopolitical ambitions. Trump’s suggestion that Ukraine should hold new elections ignores the fact that democratic processes in Ukraine remain intact, and that Zelensky would remain a frontrunner in the most likely electoral scenarios.

Among likely voters, he commands 32-41% support - far ahead of rivals like former President Petro Poroshenko and Dmytro Razumkov, who trail in the single digits. Zelensky's only strong contender would be Valerii Zaluzhnyi, former Commander in Chief and currently Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK, but he has not publicly voiced any political ambitions.

DrKaasBaas on February 20th, 2025 at 08:55 UTC »

if only these specific lies were rhe worst of it. Far more troubling is the fact that Trump is regurgitating Russian propaganda by calling Zelensky a dictator even though the decision to not hold election is mandated by Ukraine's constitution. It basically means the leader of the US, which is supposed to be the most powerful country on earth an hence lead by its own voice, is just going along with whatever Russia wants and wants to extort Ukraine out of 50% of its resources for good meausure. This is just fundamentally opposed to everything the US claims to stand for.

Schwartzy94 on February 20th, 2025 at 06:47 UTC »

Doesnt need to be expert to know that..

nectarine_pie on February 20th, 2025 at 06:38 UTC »

Professor Onuch - alongside colleagues Professor Henry Hale of George Washington University, Volodymyr Kulyk of The Kyiv School of Economics and Gwendolyn Sasse of Humbolt University and ZOiS - has conducted extensive surveys in Ukraine since 2014. Their work, carried out in partnership with the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, offers a clear picture of Ukrainian public sentiment.

According to their latest findings, 63% of Ukrainians approve of Zelensky’s performance as president, a notable increase from the previous year. Additionally, large majorities view him as a patriot (74%), an intelligent and knowledgeable leader (73%), and a strong figure guiding the country through war (65%).

The notion that Zelensky is deeply unpopular is not only inaccurate - according to the researchers, it is a blatant attempt to distort reality in favour of Russia’s geopolitical ambitions. Trump’s suggestion that Ukraine should hold new elections ignores the fact that democratic processes in Ukraine remain intact, and that Zelensky would remain a frontrunner in the most likely electoral scenarios.