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By Natalie Venegas
Weekend Reporter
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U.S. and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, where the two countries agreed to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties, and start peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. Notably absent from the meeting were representatives from Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters from Mar-a-Lago resort hours after the U.S.-Russia talks concluded, President Trump questioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's public support, pointing to what he said were rock-bottom approval ratings and suggesting that Ukraine should hold elections. The current state of martial law, in effect since Russia's invasion in 2022, prevent them under the country's constitution.
Newsweek has reached out to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and the White House via email for comment
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The Claim
In a Tuesday news conference, President Trump —without citing evidence— told reporters that Zelensky's approval rating was "down at 4 percent".
"We have a situation where we haven't had elections in Ukraine, where we have martial law, essentially martial law in Ukraine," he said when asked if the U.S. would support Russia's reported demands that Kyiv go to the polls as part of a peace deal.
Trump added: "I mean, I hate to say it, but he's down at a 4 percent approval rating."
The Facts
According to a recent survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) published in early February, 57 percent of Ukrainians said they trust Zelensky.
The rating marks a slight increase from the KIIS's December 2024 polls, conducted before Trump's return to the presidency, that showed 52 percent trust in Zelensky.
In addition, 69 percent of Ukrainians approve of Zelensky's actions, according to an October 2024 poll published by the International Republican Institute.
Zelensky—who was elected to a five-year term in 2019— also countered Trump's claim on Wednesday. He pointed to a survey that found 58 percent of the population had confidence in him, according to the BBC.
"Since we are talking about 4 percent, we have seen this disinformation, we understand that it is coming from Russia," Zelensky said. "We understand this, and we have evidence that these numbers are being discussed between America and Russia."
"President Trump, with great respect for him as a leader of the people (...) unfortunately, lives in this disinformation space," Zelensky said in a news conference on Wednesday.
Trump hit back in a midmorning Truth Social post on Wednesday, in which he called Zelensky "a dictator without elections," reiterating his assertion from the day before that the Ukrainian president was "very low" in the polls.
" He [Zelensky] refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden "like a fiddle." A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left...I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The diplomatic spat between the two leaders came as Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, was set to arrive in Kyiv for crucial talks with Zelensky's team. Kellogg earlier this month told Reuters that elections in Ukraine "need to be done."
The Ruling
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False.
There is no credible poll in Ukraine that shows Zelensky with an approval rating in the single digits. Surveys consistently show him in the 50-60 percent approval range, down from the 75-90 percent marks he was getting earlier in the war.
February's KIIS poll showed 57 percent of Ukrainians trust Zelensky, which is a higher level of support than President Trump has received in recent polls from Gallup (48 percent) and YouGov (47 percent).
FACT CHECK BY NEWSWEEK
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