A new poll by Rating Group, one of Ukraine’s top pollsters, reveals Ukrainians strongly favor Western European leaders while showing growing support for a negotiated end to the war with appropriate security guarantees.
According to the survey conducted on 20-21 February 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron enjoys the highest approval among Ukrainians at 77%, followed by Polish President Andrzej Duda at 72% and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at 67%.
Rating Group reports that more than half of respondents hold positive views of outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (both at 57%), as well as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer (56%). The polling organization notes these are the highest approval ratings ever recorded for Macron and Starmer in their measurements.
In stark contrast, pro-Russian Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (11%), Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (8%), and Russian President Vladimir Putin (1%) received the lowest approval ratings.
Zelenskyy’s rating at 65%
Among Ukrainian political figures, former military commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi maintains the highest trust rating at 76%, with only 16% expressing distrust. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is trusted by 65% of respondents, marking an increase from 57% in January.
Other Ukrainian political figures received significantly lower trust ratings, according to Rating Group. Comedian and army support foundation chief Serhii Prytula is reportedly trusted by 34% and distrusted by 51%. The survey states that former President Petro Poroshenko faces distrust at 76%, with only 22% expressing trust.
Dmytro Razumkov, the pre-invasion Parliament head who has remained largely absent from public life during the full-scale war, reportedly holds a 19% trust rating and a 41% distrust rating. Former Prime Minister Yuliia Tymoshenko, also mostly inactive since 2022, has the lowest trust at 11%, with 86% distrusting her.
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Ukrainians oppose talks behind Ukraine’s back, support ceasefire only with security guarantees
On matters of Russo-Ukrainian war resolution, the poll indicates strong opinions about negotiations. Rating Group reports that 91% of Ukrainians oppose US-Russia negotiations on ending the war without Ukraine’s participation. Respondents believe such talks would primarily benefit Russia while harming both Ukraine and the European Union.
However, 64% support direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, with this figure showing an upward trend. A significant majority (81%) consider finding a compromise solution through negotiations involving other countries as a realistic path to ending the war.
The survey also found that 83% of respondents support a ceasefire, but only if Ukraine is provided with security guarantees.
About the poll
Rating Group conducted the survey among 1,200 respondents representing Ukraine’s population aged 18 and older in all accessible oblasts, excluding the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas and areas without Ukrainian cellular connection.
The poll used Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers, with results weighted according to State Statistics Service data. The margin of error reportedly does not exceed 2.8% with a 0.95 confidence interval.
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