ARTICLE
In pushing for Ukraine elections, Trump is falling into Putin-laid trap to delegitimize Zelenskyy
Lena Surzhko Harned
theconversation.com
February 19, 2025 4:52pm EST
https://theconversation.com/in-pushing-for-ukraine-elections-trump-is-falling-into-putin-laid-trap-to-delegitimize-zelenskyy-250003
“Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was shut out of the discussions concerning the future of his country, which took place in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18, 2025. In fact, there were no Ukrainian representatives, nor any European Union ones – just U.S. and Russian delegations, and their Saudi hosts.
The meeting – which followed a mutually complimentary phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin just days earlier – was gleefully celebrated in Moscow. The absence of Ukraine in deciding its own future is very much in line with Putin’s policy toward its neighbor. Putin has long rejected Ukrainian statehood and the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government, or as he calls it the “Kyiv regime.”
While the U.S. delegation did reiterate that future discussions would have to involve Ukraine at some stage, the Trump administration’s actions and words have no doubt undermined Kyiv’s position and influence.
To that end, the U.S. is increasingly falling in line with Moscow on a key plank of the Kremlin’s plan to delegitimize Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian government: calling for elections in Ukraine as part of any peace deal.
Questioning Zelenskyy’s legitimacy
Challenging Zelenskyy’s legitimacy is part of a deliberate ongoing propaganda campaign by Russia to discredit Ukrainian leadership, weaken support for Ukraine from its key allies and remove Zelenskyy – and potentially Ukraine – as a partner in negotiations.
Claims by the Russian president that his country is ready for peace negotiations appear, to many observers of its three-year war, highly suspect given Russia’s ongoing attacks on its neighbor and its steadfast refusal to date to agree to any temporary truce.” (Excerpt)
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Poll says 63% of Ukrainians approve of Zelenskyy’s performance and 74% see him as patriot
Iryna Balachuk
Friday, 21 February 2025, 11:45
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/02/21/7499417/
“Two-thirds of Ukrainians completely approve or tend to approve of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s performance as president of Ukraine, while 14.4% completely disapprove of his performance.
SOURCE:
Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), citing a survey conducted between November 2024 and January 2025 as part of the Onukh IBIF (Identity and Borders in Flux: The Case of Ukraine) project, funded by the British Academy
QUOTE from the KIIS:
“When the Onukh IBIF project team (funded by the British Academy) recently asked Ukrainians: ‘Do you approve or disapprove of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s actions as president?’, they have found that support for President Zelenskyy has increased slightly since the previous poll: 63% of Ukrainians completely approve or tend to approve of his performance as president.”
DETAILS:
The sociologists noted that the indicator of approval of Zelenskyy’s performance is close to the indicator of trust in Zelenskyy. Still, they are not entirely identical because “you can approve of a person’s performance without trusting them”.
“In addition, these indicators (both approval and trust) are different from the electoral rating, when a person has to choose from a list of candidates to vote for. In the case of voting, people use different evaluation criteria and this reflects a different attitude. There are now many manipulations with the data and presentation of approval/trust levels as electoral ratings, which is incorrect,” KIIS stressed.
The Onukh IBIF project team also surveyed Ukrainians about President Zelenskyy’s qualities.
ACCORDING TO THE RESULTS, 74% see him as a patriot of Ukraine, 73% believe he is intelligent and knowledgeable, 60% consider him honest and trustworthy, and 65% view him as a strong leader.
IN ADDITION, the Onukh IBIF study indicates that Zelenskyy remains the frontrunner in polls for future elections, with around 26%-32% of respondents saying they would vote for him in the first round. Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine’s fifth president and a member of the European Solidarity party, would receive 5-6% support.
Sociologists suggest that Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, former Commander-in-Chief and current Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK, could be a strong contender in a potential second round, though he has not publicly voiced any political ambitions.
The research was conducted from 22 November 2024 to 7 January 2025. A total of 1,600 respondents aged 18 and over were interviewed by telephone. The sample did not include residents of the temporarily occupied territories or those who moved abroad after 24 February 2022.
“The meeting – which followed a mutually complimentary phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin just days earlier – was gleefully celebrated in Moscow.”
Of course it was.
>>>>ARTICLE
In pushing for Ukraine elections, Trump is falling into Putin-laid trap to delegitimize Zelenskyy<<<<
Yeah, “REVEREND”-mommy, according to the article you posted, President Trump is a real dope who Putin is leading around by the nose.
More trash from the Trump-hating “REVEREND”.
You zeepers are disgusting.
You summoned the Flying Zeeper Monkeys at 7:07 this morning, and 11 hours later, only ONE has reported for duty.
How sad is that, “REVEREND”-mommy?