Business news from Ukraine

Personnel reshuffles initiated by the President of Ukraine at the start of 2026 are perceived by society with restraint: amid high awareness, Ukrainians more often speak of cautious hope than of a feeling of real renewal of power, according to the results of a nationwide survey by the research company Active Group.

According to the published data, 79.2% of respondents reported that they had heard about the personnel changes, and another 14.8% noted that they “had heard something but are not sure about the details.” 6.0% of those surveyed learned about these decisions for the first time – thus, the overall level of awareness exceeds 94%.

At the same time, assessments of the consequences of the personnel changes remain uncertain: 43.6% of respondents believe that these decisions brought more benefit to the country, 18.3% – more harm, and almost 38.0% were unable to give an unambiguous answer.

The founder of the sociological company Active Group, Andrii Yeremenko, commenting on the survey results, noted that the recorded high awareness of the personnel decisions did not transform into a formed assessment of their consequences.

“We see a situation where more than 94% of respondents have at least heard about these appointments, but almost 38% cannot say whether this is more benefit or harm. This means that society currently does not have sufficiently clear markers of effectiveness – people expect practical results, not signals of a ‘reset’ at the level of personalities. The distribution of answers regarding the ‘renewal of power’ almost equally additionally confirms that there is a demand for change, but it is tied to governance logic and the implementation of decisions, not to the very fact of personnel replacements,” Yeremenko emphasized.

When asked whether the decisions of recent weeks can be considered a renewal of power, 42.5% answered in the affirmative, while 46.7% answered negatively. In the emotional dimension, 52.1% of respondents stated that the personnel reshuffles give more hope, while 29.1% said that disillusionment prevails; at the same time, 10.2% feel “only hope.”

Among the areas of state policy that, in respondents’ opinion, may be strengthened as a result of the appointments, foreign policy, diplomacy and the negotiating track were most often named: 41.5% expect strengthening, 13.2% – weakening. Regarding the defense of the state, 39.0% forecast strengthening, 20.5% – weakening. For a number of domestic areas – social policy, the economy, the work of law enforcement agencies and the fight against corruption – restrained or negative expectations prevail, while a significant share of “hard to say” answers remains.

Assessing the impact of personnel decisions on trust in key officials, most respondents report no changes. In particular, regarding President Volodymyr Zelensky, 63.8% noted that the level of trust did not change, 17.5% speak of an increase in trust, and 13.5% – of a decrease. Regarding Kyrylo Budanov, 54.5% did not feel changes, 24.0% record an increase in trust, and 13.4% – a decrease; regarding Mykhailo Fedorov, respectively 55.3%, 18.6% and 15.8%. The most critical indicators are for Denys Shmyhal: 57.5% stated no change, 24.9% – a decrease, and 8.2% – an increase in trust.

The director of the sociological company Active Group, Oleksandr Poznyi, emphasized that the emotional background around the reshuffles remains restrained, and the impact on trust in key figures is limited.

“More than half of respondents say that personnel decisions give more hope, but only about 10% feel this hope unconditionally. At the same time, for most of those involved in the appointments, the dominant answer is ‘trust has not changed,’ which indicates the absence of an effect of rapid restoration of trust. In such a situation, society will assess these decisions through concrete results – primarily in the external contour and the security sphere, where the balance of expectations is more positive, while in domestic areas, in particular the economy, the law enforcement system and anti-corruption policy, significant skepticism remains,” Poznyi added.

The distribution of trust in well-known public figures, according to the survey data, indicates fragmentation: the highest level of trust is held by Kyrylo Budanov (43.2%), followed by Valerii Zaluzhnyi (37.7%) and Volodymyr Zelensky (27.4%). Also on the list are: Andrii Biletskyi (15.6%), Petro Poroshenko (13.1%), Denys Prokopenko (13.0%), Serhii Prytula (12.0%), Dmytro Razumkov (11.6%), and Vitalii Klychko (10.1%). Separately, 21.3% of respondents stated that they do not trust any of those listed.

The highest indicators of distrust, according to the study, are recorded for Oleksii Arestovych (68.5%), Yuliia Tymoshenko (60.7%) and Yurii Boiko (54.5%); Petro Poroshenko (46.7%) and Vitalii Klychko (36.5%) also have high levels of distrust. At the same time, distrust is also expressed toward Volodymyr Zelensky (33.1%), Valerii Zaluzhnyi (16.6%) and Kyrylo Budanov (15.6%).

More than half of Ukrainians already feel the start of the election campaign: 54.2% answered “yes” (including 17.3% – “definitely yes”), 32.6% – “no,” and 13.2% were undecided.

In February 2026, the highest support among potential presidential candidates is held by Volodymyr Zelensky – 22.3% (compared to 17.8% in December 2025 and 21.7% in January 2026). Support for Valerii Zaluzhnyi, according to the survey, decreased to 10.8% (from 16.6% in December and 14.9% in January). Kyrylo Budanov’s rating increased to 9.4% (after 6.3% in January), Petro Poroshenko has 7.4%, and other candidates do not exceed 4%. The share of those ready to vote “against all” or spoil the ballot increased to 10.6% (from 7.5% in December), 7.2% do not plan to take part in the elections, and 14.5% were undecided. In the negative ratings, the greatest rejection is toward Oleksii Arestovych (56.5%) and Yuliia Tymoshenko (52.2%), followed by Yurii Boiko (45.3%) and Petro Poroshenko (42.5%).

Electoral attitudes regarding possible elections to the Verkhovna Rada also do not form a dominant force. Valerii Zaluzhnyi’s party has 11.9% in February (against 14.2% in December), Kyrylo Budanov’s party – 10.1% (after 8.8% in January), Volodymyr Zelensky’s party fluctuates within 9.9–10.7%, and European Solidarity – 10.3% in February (after 11.0% in January). The Azov party decreased to 6.1% (from 7.6% in December). The share of those ready to vote “against all” increased to 10.1% (from 6.3% in December), 7.7% do not plan to participate in the elections, and 13.1% were undecided.

The survey was conducted by Active Group using the SunFlower Sociology online panel методом self-completion of questionnaires among citizens of Ukraine aged 18+. The sample size is 2,000 respondents; the sample is representative by age, gender and regions of Ukraine. The data collection period was January 31 – February 1, 2026. The theoretical margin of error at a confidence probability of 0.95 does not exceed 2.2%.