Ukrainians trust the Commander-in-Chief General Valeriy Zaluzhny more than President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to the results of a recent sociological survey, the Strana.ua newspaper reported.
According to the data, Zaluzhny has a 82% approval rating, while Zelensky is at 72%. Likewise, 63% of citizens fully trust the commander and 19% tend to trust him more, while for the Ukrainian leader these numbers are 39% and 33%, respectively).
According to the "Rating" data, Zelensky began losing the trust of citizens from July, as noted by the publication.
In the hypothetical scenario of elections featuring both Zelensky and Zaluzhny, neither would secure victory in the first round (47.4% of voters would hypothetically support the president, and 30.7% the commander). In the second round, the votes would be almost evenly distributed: 42% for Zelensky and 40% for Zaluzhny.
Last month, Bloomberg cited data from the Kiev International Institute of Sociology in presenting different information: according to KMIS, Zelensky's approval rating decreased from the wartime peak of 91% but still remains high at 76%.
It came amid media reports of a growing internal conflict between the political and military leadership of Ukraine. The Economist has claimed that relations between Zelensky and Zaluzhny are described in their circles as "terrible."
In an interview with The Economist earlier last month, the general stated that the situation on the battlefield had reached a deadlock, while Zelensky disagreed with his evaluation.
Ukraine's political leadership denies any conflict between the president and the chief of the Armed Forces. "There has never been any tension between the political and military leadership," said the speaker of the country's parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, in an interview with Politico, calling such ideas "rumors."
Presidential elections in Ukraine are scheduled for March 2024. According to Ukrainian legislation, holding elections is impossible under the current martial law. Zelensky stated recently that he is prepared to hold elections, but the majority of Ukrainians are against it.
The Russian leadership has repeatedly spoken about the failure of Kiev's counteroffensive and significant losses for Ukraine. The day before, Russia's defense minister stated that since the beginning of the counteroffensive, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost more than 125,000 people and 16,000 units of weapons.