The Washington Times (USA) cited new survey data released by the Pew Research Center on July 2, saying that trust in Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky is declining in many parts of the world, including in neighboring European countries.
The decline in the index suggests that Mr Zelensky's political standing could be eroded as the Russia-Ukraine conflict drags on into its third year with no end in sight.
In a war of attrition, the two sides were locked in a stalemate along a nearly 1,000-kilometer front and made only small advances for more than a year.
Continuing the fighting indefinitely could further frustrate the West and undermine international confidence in Mr Zelensky’s long-term strategy.
Pew’s wide-ranging survey, which sampled citizens in 35 countries, found that just 40% of respondents expressed confidence that Mr. Zelensky “will do the right thing regarding world affairs,” while 46% had no such confidence.
The results of a Pew survey in 35 countries, released on July 2, 2024, showed that only 40% of respondents expressed confidence in Mr. Zelensky. Photo: Ukrainska Pravda
The biggest drop in confidence was in the countries Ukraine relies on the most. In the United States, 48% said they had confidence in Ukraine’s leader, while 39% said they had no confidence. 13% said they “don’t know.”
The numbers are much bleaker in Europe. In Hungary, 83% said they had “no” or “not too much” confidence in Mr Zelensky. In Italy, France and Germany, the figures were 60%, 53% and 44%, respectively.
Perhaps the biggest shift has occurred in Poland, Ukraine’s next-door neighbor. About 48% of respondents in Poland said they had confidence in Mr. Zelensky, compared with 40% who had no confidence. That confidence among Poles has dropped 22 percentage points since last year, according to Pew. About 70% of Poles surveyed in 2023 expressed confidence in the Ukrainian leader.
In Poland and elsewhere across Eastern Europe, much of the change can be attributed to the simmering anger of farmers and farm workers, who say the flood of cheap Ukrainian grain across their borders has led to falling food prices, making their farming businesses less profitable.
Confidence in Mr Zelensky has also fallen outside Europe. In South Korea, confidence in the Ukrainian president has dropped 15 percentage points since last year, and now stands at 51%, according to a Pew survey.
In South Africa, just 20% of respondents have confidence in Ukraine's leader, a 12 percentage point drop since last year, the Pew survey found.
A Ukrainian poll released in February this year showed that 63% of Ukrainians supported Mr Zelensky's leadership, down from 91% in February last year.
A continued decline in confidence in Mr Zelensky could accelerate calls for peace, including in the US, where Donald Trump said in last week’s presidential debate that he would seek a quick end to the war if elected.
The former US President's views appear to be driven by the belief that Ukraine cannot defeat Russia on the battlefield, and therefore peace negotiations are the only realistic answer.
Minh Duc (According to Washington Times)
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