President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s political ratings are on the rise, according to the latest public opinion surveys. On Wednesday, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) reported that 45% of Ukrainians trust Zelenskiy, compared with 39.5% earlier this month.

The Razumkov Center noted a similar uptick in Zelenskiy’s ratings as of mid-March, with 31% of respondents saying they trust the president, up from 26.5% back in February. According to Razumkov’s latest poll, 27% of decided voters would cast their ballot for Zelenskiy in a hypothetical presidential election – a 4% increase compared with last month’s survey data.

On the other hand, the Rating Group has reported only a slight increase in electoral support for Zelenskiy: 22.5% of decided voters would vote for him as of early March, compared with 21.2% in early February.

In a blog post for Ukrainska Pravda, political analyst Vladimir Fesenko attributed the jump in positive attitudes towards Zelenskiy to the recent sanctions against pro-Kremlin oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk (for backstory, check out BMB’s February 26 issue). This conclusion was echoed by commentator Roman Shraik, who wrote on Telegram that the sanctions “obviously” benefit Zelenskiy’s ratings.

Notably, the latest polling results underscore that Medvedchuk is a deeply distrusted figure in Ukraine. According to survey data from the Razumkov Center and the Rating Group, only 13-15% of Ukrainians trust him.

 

-

This article originally appeared in FPRI's BMB Ukraine newsletter. Click here to learn more about BMB Ukraine and subscribe to the newsletter.