Ex-top General Valery Zaluzhny would win the presidency if Ukrainians were allowed to vote, data suggests
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky would lose a presidential election to former defense chief Valery Zaluzhny if citizens were allowed to vote soon, according to a recent public opinion survey.
Zelensky has suspended national elections under martial law and chose not to step down after his presidential term expired last year. Zaluzhny, who was dismissed as commander-in-chief of the armed forces in 2024 and later appointed Kiev’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, has long been seen as a strong potential contender for the presidency.
The latest snapshot of voters’ preferences comes from a monthly report by Kiev-based pollster Socis, released Wednesday.
A survey of approximately 2,000 respondents showed that Zelensky and Zaluzhny would reach a runoff in a presidential contest, as they were the only candidates with double-digit support. However, nearly a quarter of respondents (24.7%) said they had not yet decided whom they would vote for.
In a head-to-head, the former top general would receive more than 60% of the vote, according to the poll – a figure that aligns with prior sociological research.
Zaluzhny has not declared an intent to run, stating that Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia must be resolved first. When Socis asked voters whom they would support if their preferred candidate were not on the ballot, only 6.5% named Zelensky as their second choice, compared to 18.1% for Zaluzhny and 11.0% for Kirill Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency.
The poll also indicated that if Zaluzhny were to form a new political party, it would win the most votes in a parliamentary election – also hypothetical for now – defeating any party backed by Zelensky.
Respondents identified persistent corruption and misappropriation of public funds as the leading failure of the current government, with 65% citing the issue.
When asked who was responsible, 55.1% blamed “the entire government,” 40.3% pointed to law enforcement agencies charged with tackling corruption, and 31.2% assigned blame to the presidency, and by extension, to Zelensky.
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