KIIS poll: 53% of Ukrainians think Zelensky should not run for president again

Around 53% of Ukrainians think that President Volodymyr Zelensky should not run for a second term, according to a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) published on 5 October, as The Kyiv Independent reports. Only 42% support his candidacy in the next presidential elections, while 5% were undecided.

Support for a second Zelensky term has steadily fallen in recent years: in December 2023, 59% of respondents said the incumbent president should run again, while by December 2025 that figure had dropped to 45%.

Ukraine’s Constitution does not allow elections under martial law, in force since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. The poll also found that 71% of Ukrainians oppose holding presidential elections during the war. The idea of wartime elections was raised in August by former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, whose dismissal sparked nationwide protests, but the public reacted badly because of the logistical constraints for military personnel, the millions of Ukrainians abroad and those near the front line, according to The Kyiv Independent.

The study comes amid growing scrutiny over corruption scandals involving figures from his inner circle and personnel decisions, including the dismissal of the popular Defence Minister Fedorov. Nevertheless, Zelensky remains among the leading candidates in polls for the next elections, together with Fedorov and Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former military chief and currently ambassador to the United Kingdom. Zelensky told Axios in September 2025: “If we end the war with the Russians, I am ready not to run for a second term, because that is not my goal — elections.”

The poll also found that 45% of Ukrainians believe the country’s affairs are going in the wrong direction, while 40% think the opposite. In addition, 44% said they feel “mainly disappointment” with Zelensky’s current government and 33% feel shame — both up compared with the KIIS poll of December 2025.

KIIS executive director Anton Hrushetskyi commented: “There is an important demand in Ukrainian society for a renewal of the political elites, and it has only intensified in recent years.” The poll was conducted on 12–21 September with 1,002 respondents living in the territories under government control.