Despite the fact that Ukrainians’ trust in President Volodymyr Zelenskyi remains high, it has fallen by more than 20 percent compared to the same period last year, Ukrainian Pravda reports.

A survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology from November 29 to December 9 showed that 62% of Ukrainian citizens say they trust the country’s president, compared to 84% last December.

At the top of the trust of Ukrainians are the Armed Forces of the country with a trust index of 96%, as well as the head of the General Staff of Ukraine, General Valery Zaluzhny, with 88%. The survey largely suggests that Ukrainians blamed Zelensky for the failure of the offensive on Kyiv this summer, rather than the armed forces and their command.

The situation is interesting because in November, a public conflict broke out between Zelenskyi’s office and Zaluzhny after the general in an interview with Western media hinted, without saying directly, that Ukraine’s summer offensive had failed.

Later, more assumptions appeared about disagreements between the president of Ukraine and the country’s top general, in particular about Zelensky’s dismissal of military commanders without notifying the chief of the General Staff.

Zelenskyi’s office denies the conflict with General Zaluzhny

In early December, Kyiv Independent reported that Zelensky would avoid Zaluzhny and that the president was communicating directly with some frontline commanders, bypassing the army chief. Later, the adviser to the president, Mykhailo Podolyak, denied this information, at the same time stating that there were no grounds for the general’s dismissal.

As for the new poll, although Ukrainians’ trust in Zelenskyi has fallen sharply, only 18% say they don’t trust him at all.

On the other hand, trust in the armed forces remained unchanged compared to the same period last year, with 96% of respondents saying they did not trust them. Only 4% of respondents said that they do not trust General Zaluzhny.

However, sociologists note that it is important to understand how the ratings of trust in the president and the head of the Administration “intersect”, as they indicate a fairly low degree of polarization.

Yes, only 14% of Ukrainians trust General Zaluzhny, but not Zelensky, and only 1% trust the president, but not the commander of the Armed Forces.

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