The press release was prepared by Anton Hrushetskyi, executive director of KIIS

During May 2-12, 2025, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted its own all-Ukrainian public opinion survey "Omnibus", to which, on its own initiative, added questions about trust in V. Zelenskyi and attitude towards holding elections. By the method of telephone interviews (computer-assistedtelephoneinterviews, CATI) based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers (with random generation of phone numbers and subsequent statistical weighting) in all regions of Ukraine (the territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine), 1,010 respondents were surveyed. The survey was conducted with adult (aged 18 and older) citizens of Ukraine who, at the time of the survey, lived in the territory of Ukraine controlled by the Government of Ukraine. The sample did not include residents of territories temporarily not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities (at the same time, some of the respondents are IDPs who moved from the occupied territories), and the survey was not conducted with citizens who left abroad after February 24, 2022.

Formally, under normal circumstances, the statistical error of such a sample (with a probability of 0.95 and taking into account the design effect of 1.3) did not exceed 4.1% for indicators close to 50%, 3.5% for indicators close to 25%, 2.5% for indicators close to 10%, 1.8% for indicators close to 5%.

Under the conditions of war, in addition to the specified formal error, a certain systematic deviation is added. Factors that may affect the quality of results in "wartime" conditions were previously cited by KIIS.

In general, we believe that the obtained results are still highly representative and allow a fairly reliable analysis of the public moods of the population.

As of the first half of May 2025, 74% of Ukrainians trusted President V. Zelenskyi, 22% did not trust him. The balance of trust-distrust is +52%.

Compared to our last survey in March 2025, trust in the President has increased: so, the share of those who trust has increased from 69% to 74%, and the share of those who do not trust has decreased from 28% to 22%. Accordingly, the balance of trust-distrust has improved from +41% to +52%.

Graph 1. Dynamics of trust in President V. Zelenskyi during 2019-2025

"To what extent do you trust or distrust Volodymyr Zelenskyi?"

In all regions of Ukraine[1] the majority of the population trusts the President and the trust indicators are quite close. Only the East stands out somewhat against the background of the others, where the level of trust is slightly lower. However, even in this region 60% trust the President (in other regions – 75-77%), do not trust – 33% (in other regions – 20-22%).

Graph 2. Trust in President V. Zelenskyi in the regional dimension

KIIS regularly monitors the question of when Ukrainians think national elections should be held. In March 2025, we tested two options for holding elections after a possible ceasefire, subject to the presence/absence of reliable security guarantees[2].  Now, in May 2025, we have re-asked the question of whether it is worth holding national elections in the event of a ceasefire and security guarantees (since objectively the option of elections without security guarantees seems less and less realistic).

Thus, the vast majority of Ukrainians – 71% – do not support holding elections after a ceasefire, even with security guarantees, and believe that elections should only be held after a final peace agreement and a complete end to the war. Believe that elections should be held after the ceasefire or even now – 25%.

At the same time, compared to March 2025, there are slightly more people who support holding elections after a ceasefire or right now - from 19% to 25%. At the same time, there are fewer people who believe that elections should be held only after the war is completely over, from 78% to 71%.           

Graph 3. Imagine that a ceasefire really takes place and Ukraine receives reliable security guarantees: more weapons, peacekeepers from a European country, etc. Should Ukraine then hold national elections after that?

Support for holding elections is closely linked to trust in the President. More than half of those who do not trust the President support holding elections – 57% versus 38% who oppose holding elections even in the event of a ceasefire with security guarantees.

Among those who trust the President, 82% oppose holding elections (15% support holding elections).

Graph 4. Support for holding elections depending on trust in the President

In all regions of Ukraine, the absolute majority opposes the elections. The largest number of opponents of the elections is in the West of Ukraine. The relatively fewest opponents of the elections are in the East (although the majority also opposes the elections in the East).

Graph 5. Support for holding elections in the regional dimension

A. Hrushetskyi, comments on the survey results:

In the conditions of a difficult international situation and intense discussions about possible negotiations regarding the end of the war, President V. Zelenskyi maintains high public support and legitimacy. And in addition to high trust, the vast majority of Ukrainians continue to hold the view that elections are impossible until the war is completely ended and a peace agreement is concluded.

We call on all Ukrainian public entities – politicians from the government and opposition, public figures, media representatives, experts – to put aside disputes and demonstrate a consolidated position on the issue of defending the national interests of Ukraine. A strong, united Ukraine is a convincing argument for both our partners and our enemies that the interests of Ukraine and Ukrainians must be taken into account, and crossing “red lines” is impossible.

Annex 1. Formulation questions from the questionnaire

How much do you trust or distrust the following Ukrainian public figures? If you don't know him or her, say so.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi

Imagine that a ceasefire really takes place and Ukraine receives reliable security guarantees: more weapons, peacekeepers from a European country, etc. Should Ukraine then hold national elections after that?