Sunday, October 20, 2019

Zelensky Rapidly Losing Support among Ukrainians, Poll Shows


Paul Goble

            Staunton, October 17 – The share of Ukrainians approving the actions of President Vladimir Zelensky has fallen from 73 percent in September to 66 percent this month, and the rating of his prime minister has fallen as well, according to polls taken by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (kiis.com.ua/?lang=ukr&cat=reports&id=898&page=1).

            At the same time, support for Zelensky’s opponents has risen, a shift that may help to explain the Ukrainian president’s increasingly tough line on Russia, a line that US-based commentator Andrey PIontkovsky says more closely reflects Ukrainian national interests than did Zelensky’s earlier position (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=5DA890F56578C).

            At the very least, these results mean three things: First, anger at Zelensky is broader and deeper than just the protesters in Kyiv and some other Ukrainian cities; second, the Ukrainian president has less room to maneuver than he did; and third, his opponents are likely to be energized by these findings and take a harder line against him.

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