[REVISION HISTORY]

Ukraine presidential candidacy – July-Aug 2026 polls

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2026-08-20 10:55 UTC → 2026-08-28 19:14 UTC · added ~~removed~~

In early July, former army chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, now ambassador to the United Kingdom, met President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. Zelensky raised the possibility of an autumn presidential election and asked Zaluzhnyi if he would run; Zaluzhnyi said he would, citing a duty to the public. Subsequent polls showed a rapid erosion of confidence in Zelensky and a surge in public trust for senior security figures. A Rating Group poll (20–21 July) placed Zaluzhnyi at the top with a 70% trust rating, ahead of former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov (65%) and intelligence chief Kirill Budanov (62%). A Socis poll (28 July–2 August) confirmed Zelensky’s slip to sixth place in public trust, with 37% of respondents expressing no trust at all and only 18% expressing full trust. Zaluzhnyi maintained the highest trust levels (37.1% full, 27.8% partial), followed by Fedorov, drone-forces commander Robert Browdy, army chief Mykhailo Drapatyi, and presidential chief Kirill Budanov. The survey indicated 69.5% support for EU accession and over 60% for NATO membership, while 55.6% believed the country is heading in the wrong direction. A subsequent Socis poll indicated that if presidential elections were held immediately, Zelenskyy would likely secure only 22.3% of the vote in the first round. Modeling for a hypothetical second-round runoff suggests Zelenskyy would lose to several figures, including Zaluzhnyi, Budanov, and Fedorov. By late August, polling from the Institute of Sociology in Kyiv showed Zelenskyy’s trust rating at 56%, a significant decline from the 90% recorded following the 2022 invasion. He now ranks fourth among trusted officials, trailing Zaluzhnyi (66%) and Fedorov (63%). ~~Amidst these shifts, demonstrations~~ Critics have ~~occurred~~ accused the administration of prioritizing loyalty over expertise following a costly 2023 counteroffensive. Meanwhile, thousands have demonstrated in Kyiv and other ~~cities, with protesters~~ cities demanding the reinstatement of Fedorov as Defense Minister.

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