Trust in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has declined to half (52%), down seven percentage points from October 2024 and 12 points since February, according to a poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), The Kyiv Independent reported on January 8.

The survey also revealed that 39% of respondents said they “distrust” the president.

The poll, conducted between December 2 and 17, comes on top of another survey in November that found Zelenskiy would be soundly beaten by former commander-in-chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi if presidential elections were held now.

Zaluzhnyi garnered 27% of support when respondents were asked whom they would vote for if an election were held next Sunday (November 24). When respondents were allowed to select a secondary candidate, Zaluzhnyi retained 15% of preferences, followed by Budanov with 12% and Zelenskiy with 6%.

The government has come in for increasing criticism due to its increasingly aggressive mobilisation policy that has seen men of military age snatched from the streets and pressganged into service on the front line. Morale has been falling in the face of the relentless but slow advances by the Armed Forces of Russia (AFR) in the east of Ukraine and the desertion rate has been climbing. The government said last month that if AWOL soldiers didn’t return to their posts by the end of January, they would be prosecuted.

Ukrainian forces are fending off almost 100 Russian assaults a day in Kursk Oblast, Ukraine’s military says – nearly half of all the reported skirmishes on January 7. Ukraine launched a major offensive in the Kursk region at the start of the week, but has lost half the territory it captured in August. Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent one of his top generals, General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, to organise Russia’s defence and the county’s military reports it has successfully repelled Ukraine offensive, according to reports.

As reported by bne IntelliNews, the war went badly for Ukraine in 2024 and the share of Ukrainians that want to see ceasefire talks start is rising, although they remain in the minority.

Trust in Zelenskiy surged in the early days of the invasion, as he remained in Kyiv to lead the resistance against Russian aggression. When the US offered to evacuate him by helicopter as the AFR approached Kyiv, he famously retorted: “I need ammo, not a ride.” However, confidence in the president has waned throughout 2024 as the fighting slowed to a stalemate and now the AFR are making steady advances, taking the most territory in the last six months than at any time since the start of the war almost three years ago.

Zelenskiy enjoys greater support in the traditionally nationalistic western (60%) and central (52%) regions of Ukraine, while trust is lower in the war-torn southern (46%) and traditionally Russophile eastern (42%) regions, which have borne the brunt of Russian aggression.

The KIIS poll also highlights rising pessimism about the war. A separate survey in December found that 38% of Ukrainians would consider territorial concessions to secure peace, a significant increase from 19% the previous year, The Kyiv Independent reports.

Expectations of peace talks in 2025 are growing, fuelled by expectations that incoming US President-elect Donald Trump will follow through on his promise to end the war “in 24 hours” after taking office on January 20.