Over the past year, trust among Ukrainians has decreased the most in US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
According to a survey commissioned by the New Europe Center, these two leaders experienced the largest decline in the ranking of foreign leaders trusted by Ukrainians, while French President Emmanuel Macron was the only leader whose trust rating increased.
The survey revealed that 52.2% of respondents believe that partners are not doing enough to help Ukraine achieve victory. This sentiment has evidently impacted the trust ratings for foreign leaders.
Leading the trust ranking among Ukrainians were European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Polish President Andrzej Duda, who had almost identical trust scores (65%). In third place was Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (almost 60%), followed by French President Emmanuel Macron at 58.4%.
The fifth position went to Moldovan President Maia Sandu with 57.3%.
The most significant drop in trust was seen for US President Joe Biden: he topped the ranking last year with 82%, but this year his trust level stands at 55.2%.
Another significant “decliner” was German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Last year, he had a trust level of 61.4%, but this year it has decreased by 24.5 percentage points.It is worth noting that even the trust rating of Andrzej Duda fell by 13.1 percentage points compared to last year and even more compared to 2022 when he led the trust ranking with 86.8%.
The only Western leader whose trust level increased in 2024 was Macron: last year, 54.5% of Ukrainians trusted him, while this year, the figure is 58.4%.
