Photo: Julien de Rosa Pool via Associated Press Volodymyr Zelensky, in Paris, June 7, 2024
Jonathan Brown – Agence France-Presse and Mykola Zavgorodniy – Agence France-Presse to Kleban-Byk
Published yesterday at 11:35 p.m.
- Europe
Six years ago, Olena Semykina voted for Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine’s presidential election, hoping the young, inexperienced candidate would bring peace.
In her verdant village in the eastern Donetsk region of Kleban-Byk, the sounds of artillery fire and plumes of black smoke streaking the horizon remind her of the harsh reality.
“We expected the war to end, as he promised. But the war hasn’t stopped. There’s more fighting. I feel like it’s even worse,” the 43-year-old told AFP.
The fighting in this region did not begin with the Russian offensive in February 2022, but eight years earlier, when separatists armed by Moscow plunged eastern Ukraine into civil war. Candidate Zelensky, a former comedian, had campaigned on the promise of fighting for peace.
Today, Russian troops are conquering village after village in eastern Ukraine, and are closing in on Olena Semykina’s village. Like her, residents at their wit's end say they no longer trust the president who won their vote in 2019, even if others still support him.
For the most critical among them, Volodymyr Zelensky does not understand the daily lives of Ukrainians who live near the front, which are very different from those of residents of kyiv or the west of the country.
“Honestly, I don't listen to him at all anymore,” says Vadym, a resident of Selydove, another town that watches the Russian soldiers approach with anxiety.
“It's no use. I don't believe what he says. “He talks a lot, but he doesn't do much,” says the 42-year-old miner, who sent his family to kyiv to find safety.
Popularity down
Volodymyr Zelensky had earned international respect by deciding to stay in Kiev in February 2022, while Russian troops invaded his country.
In Ukraine, his approval ratings had declined after his election in 2019, before soaring back to almost 90% when Russian missiles began raining down on the territory.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000Two and a half years of war have blunted it again, and it now stands at 55%, according to the Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).
Ukrainian law prohibits any elections from being held while martial law, in place since February 2022, remains in force.
Holding a vote would in any case face myriad logistical obstacles, with millions of Ukrainians abroad, others living under Russian occupation or fighting in the trenches.
At least 70% of Ukrainians oppose holding elections under these circumstances, according to KIIS figures.
Also read
« Respect »
But despite this drop in popularity, it is not all doom and gloom for Volodymyr Zelensky in the Donetsk region.
In a military hospital near Pokrovsk, a doctor who goes by the pseudonym “Lyoubystok” praises the courage of his leader, who did not flee when Russian troops approached the capital in 2022.
“That’s very strong, it was the right thing to do and it deserves respect,” he says, before running to the aid of a wounded soldier.
The president also enjoys an image as a unifier, having managed to unite Western allies around Ukraine.
On the military front, it has obtained advanced weaponry from the West, such as anti-aircraft defenses and F-16 fighter jets. On the diplomatic front, he has put Ukraine on the path to joining the European Union, although it is shaping up to be a long and winding one.
Historical figure
In Novogrodivka, a mining town that the Russians are now very close to, Iryna Cherednychenko still thinks that Volodymyr Zelensky, for whom she voted, is “a good guy.”
However, the 62-year-old businesswoman had hoped for more results in the fight against corruption, an endemic problem in Ukraine that is particularly pronounced in the Donetsk region.
“We expected him to have a very professional team, but this “That's not what happened,” says Ms. Cherednychenko, her voice struggling to drown out the distant echoes of the fighting.
“People have lost faith,” she adds, citing “corruption” and “the irresponsibility of the authorities.”
According to analyst Volodymyr Fesenko, Ukrainian presidents typically see their support erode after their first year in power, and Ukrainians tend to distrust state and political institutions.
According to the expert, Volodymyr Zelensky will probably not regain the heights of popularity he experienced, but “he will remain one of the most striking and unusual political figures in Ukrainian history.”