The highest trust ratings among public figures in Ukraine are held by defense figures: former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), currently Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom Valeriy Zaluzhny with a 73% trust level, Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Robert "Madyar" Brovdi, and former Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, currently Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov—both at 70%.
This is evidenced by the results of a sociological survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) from May 7 to June 3, 2026. This time, sociologists asked the question in a slightly different format (compared to the previous survey in April)—asking about trust in 18 different public figures, one of whom was "Volodymyr Zelenskyy – President." It is noted that prompts describing the figures were provided during the survey.
"Among the list of figures from the defense sector, all have a positive trust-distrust balance. Respondents view R. Brovdi most favorably (70% trust, 7% distrust, with a balance of +63%), V. Zaluzhny (73% trust, 21% distrust, balance of +52%), and K. Budanov (70% trust, 22% distrust, balance of +48%)," KIIS said in a statement on its website on Wednesday following the study.
They are followed by Brigadier General, Commander of the Third Army Corps Andriy Biletsky, who is trusted by 49% and distrusted by 12%, with a corresponding balance of +38%. At the same time, 33% did not know who Biletsky was even with the "prompt," meaning he has significant prospects to improve his indicators due to higher awareness.
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky is trusted by 52% and distrusted by 36%, with a balance of +16%.
Among political figures in Ukraine, the highest trust ratings are held by Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov (52% trust and 19% distrust, balance of +32%), Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov (50% trust and 21% distrust, balance of +29%), President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (61% trust and 34% distrust, balance of +27%), and Head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration Vitaliy Kim (47% trust and 27% distrust, balance of +20%).
In the cases of Terekhov, Fedorov, and Kim, quite a few respondents do not know them (even with additional information), meaning these politicians have the potential to improve their indicators through better awareness.
Next in terms of trust indicators are Oleh Liashko (47% trust and 43% distrust, balance of +5%) and Serhiy Prytula (46% trust and 44% distrust, balance of +2%).
"All other politicians and public-political figures from the list have a negative balance, meaning they are distrusted more than trusted. At the same time, among them, one can distinguish those whose indicators (for Ukrainian realities) are relatively high: V. Klitschko, Y. Svyrydenko, D. Razumkov, O. Honcharenko. Their trust-distrust balance is negative, ranging from -11% to -23%, but less than half of the respondents distrust them (and in the cases of Y. Svyrydenko, D. Razumkov, and O. Honcharenko, quite a few do not know them)," the press release states.
It is reported that the leader of the European Solidarity party Petro Poroshenko is trusted by 26% and distrusted by 71% (balance of -45%). The lowest trust indicators belong to Yuriy Boyko (6% trust and 78% distrust, balance of -72%) and Yulia Tymoshenko (11% trust and 85% distrust, balance of -75%).
KIIS Executive Director Anton Hrushetsky, commenting on the survey results, noted the high level of trust in the military, primarily in Zaluzhny and Budanov (who enjoy higher trust even than V. Zelenskyy). "This reflects a substantial public demand to see successful military figures leading the state after the war. However, we are speaking of the demand now, in conditions of war and when the need for a leader-‘national defender’ is actualized. However, if the war ends on favorable terms for Ukraine and if there is a long preparation for elections, then the public demand may change," Hrushetsky said.
The survey was conducted using computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers in all regions of Ukraine (government-controlled territory) among adults. The sample includes 1,015 respondents. Residents of territories temporarily not controlled by the authorities of Ukraine were not included in the sample (at the same time, part of the respondents are IDPs who moved from the occupied territories), and the survey was not conducted among citizens who went 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 a 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%, and 1.8% for indicators close to 5%.
