Whether or not President Volodymyr Zelensky was caught off guard or could have taken a more diplomatic approach in the Oval Office, his visit to Washington proved to be a challenging one for Ukraine.
For those watching in Kyiv, the stakes couldn’t have been higher.
"It was an emotional conversation, but I understand our president," says Yulia, standing near Kyiv's golden-domed St. Sofia’s Cathedral. "Maybe it wasn’t diplomatic, but it was sincere. This is about life—we want to live."
Her sentiment reflects a familiar political pattern in Ukraine: the more the country comes under attack, the more its people rally together.
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, President Zelensky’s trust rating stood at 37%. Afterward, it soared to 90%. Before Donald Trump returned to office in early 2025, his approval had settled at 52%. But after Trump blamed Ukraine for starting the war, it surged to 65%.
"They [Donald Trump and JD Vance] were so rude," says 30-year-old Andriy. "They don’t respect the people of Ukraine."
"It looks like Washington supports Russia!" adds 26-year-old Dmytro.
The past 24 hours may have had a significant impact on Zelensky’s popularity.
"When the situation worsens, we see another rallying around the flag," explains Volodymyr Paniotto, director of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, which conducted some of the polling.
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Like many world leaders, Zelensky’s approval has fluctuated over time. His ratings took a hit after Ukraine’s unsuccessful 2023 counteroffensive and again when he dismissed the widely respected commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, in 2024.
But Donald Trump’s new transactional and often hostile stance toward Ukraine has once again united the country, forcing it to brace for further uncertainty—especially as Washington’s posture toward Russia appears to shift.
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