Olena Semykina, a village shop owner in eastern Ukraine, voted for President Volodymyr Zelensky five and a half years ago, hoping the fresh political newcomer would put an end to the fighting unleashed by Russian allies in 2014.
The screeching of an artillery shell above her verdant village in the war-torn Donetsk region and the dark plumes of smoke looming on the horizon indicated that her hopes for his first term had been dashed.
“We expected the war to end, as he promised. But the war is not over. There is even more fighting. It seems to me that it has become even more intense,” the 43-year-old told AFP in the village of Kleban-Byk, where invading Russian troops are fast approaching.
In the industrial region of Donetsk, some war-weary residents, such as Olena, who voted for Zelensky in 2019, have lost faith in the 46-year-old leader as the Russian invasion enters its third year.
The former comedian gained international acclaim and was compared to Winston Churchill when he visited Kiev in February 2022 to lead his country in a David-versus-Goliath battle against Russian forces.
However, in interviews with AFP, Donetsk residents accused him of failing to prevent the large-scale invasion, saying his daily speeches felt empty and that he was out of touch with Ukrainians living near the front lines.
– ‘I don’t listen to him anymore’ –
Donetsk has been partially controlled by Russian forces since 2014, who took control of large parts of the industrial area.
Five years later, Zelensky won a landslide victory, promising to end the brutal fighting and end the systematic corruption among Soviet-style political elites.
Polls taken in September 2019, just months after his inauguration, showed the former TV star with a high approval rating of around 80 percent.
Those numbers dropped sharply before the Russian invasion in 2022, but then rose to around 90 percent as Russian missiles began raining down on Ukrainians.
According to a poll by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), his ratings are now falling dramatically again and now stand at 55 percent.
“To be honest, I don’t listen to him at all anymore. It’s pointless. I don’t believe in what he says. He talks a lot, but does little,” said Vadim, a miner in Selydove, another city in the Donetsk region targeted by Russia.
“You have to be here to understand what is happening here and how people live,” adds the 42-year-old, who previously sent his family to Kiev to protect themselves from the Russian bombing.
Zelensky’s first five-year term officially ended earlier this year. Under martial law, Kiev cannot hold elections, which would pose numerous obstacles anyway with millions of Ukrainians abroad, living under Russian occupation or close to active hostilities.
– Zelensky ‘deserves respect’ –
A poll by KIIS found that at least 70 percent of Ukrainians are against holding elections while the war is raging. However, there is still a clear willingness for change, according to Anton Grushetsky, director of the institute.
“It is clear that ordinary Ukrainians are asking for more and more competent, decent people in key government positions,” he wrote in an analytical note accompanying the poll results.
Some in Donetsk were more sympathetic to Zelensky and his bid to unite Ukrainians and Kiev’s allies abroad to end the largest war in Europe since World War II.
Zelensky has convinced skeptical Western leaders to send advanced battle tanks and F-16 fighter jets to his military, helped Ukraine on its path to European Union membership and won over dozens of countries to his vision for ending the war.
At a military field hospital near Pokrovsk, an army doctor who identified himself as Lyubystok praised Zelensky for remaining at the helm as Russian troops shelled the capital in February 2022.
“This is very powerful, very right and deserves respect,” the 26-year-old told AFP before rushing to help bloodied soldiers pulled from the nearby front.
In Novogrodivka, a mining town that has fallen under Russian control, businesswoman Iryna Cherednychenko said Zelensky was a “good man” and admired him for visiting her frontline area several times.
– ‘Save the country’ –
The 62-year-old also voted for Zelensky, but said she was disappointed that corruption remained a problem and that the cabinet and parliament should take measures to strengthen the rule of law.
“We expected him to have a very professional team, but our expectations were not met,” Cherednychenko said, as the sound of shelling echoed in the distance.
“Corruption, the irresponsibility of the authorities and weak laws are destroying us. People are losing trust,” she told AFP, adding that officials in Kiev had lost contact with soldiers and civilians affected by the fighting.
Political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko told AFP that Ukrainian presidents typically lose support in their first year in office and that Ukrainians are generally distrustful of the state and political institutions.
He said Zelensky’s popularity would likely never rise again, but that the president could do more on domestic issues, particularly corruption.
“Zelensky should now think not about ratings, but about how to save the country and come out of the war with as few losses as possible,” Fesenko added.
“In any case, he will remain one of the most striking and unusual political figures in Ukrainian history.”
bur-jbr/jc/rlp
