DISINFO: Zelenskyy’s regime lacks public support
SUMMARY
Zelenskyy’s regime is likely to collapse soon. The government rules by martial law, has failed in its key policies, is reportedly highly corrupt, and lacks public support. These conditions suggest the likelihood of political change.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative targeting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, aiming to undermine his continuity in power, as Russia has always perceived him as an obstacle to its aggressive goals in Ukraine, even since before the invasion. One of the targets of the invasion in February 2022 was the murder of Zelenskyy and the decapitation of the Ukrainian government to install a pro-Russian leadership.
Zelenskyy is a democratic leader who won the 2019 election by a landslide with over 73% of the vote. While this popularity may have changed over the years, his approval rate remained very high at the time this disinformation story appeared. A survey conducted by Ipsos/The Economist in mid-March 2025 showed that 72% of Ukrainians approved his job as president, while 80% considered that he had democratic legitimacy as president.
Although Zelenskyy’s continuation in power after his initial mandate expired in May 2024 generated some domestic controversy, Ukraine’s constitution is straightforward: no elections can be held during wartime and the President of Ukraine exercises his powers until the assumption of office by the newly-elected President. Even Zelenskyy’s fiercest political opponents have rejected the idea of conducting another election during wartime.
Accusations of corruption against Zelenskyy and his family are a regular feature of pro-Kremlin disinformation as a mean to discredit him and his leadership, but they have been debunked every single time. See here, here, here, here, here, here and here. See also our article Kremlin disinformation attacking the ‘legitimacy’ of Ukrainian authorities.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that the Nazi Zelenskyy regime is within months of falling, that the disgraced dictator of Ukraine Zelenskyy is an extension of the EU, that Zelensky is an actor who reads a script as part of a play, or that the West will not keep Volodymyr Zelenskyy alive.