If the presidential elections in Ukraine were held in the near future, then 32% of Ukrainians who will definitely go to the elections and have decided on their choice, would vote for incumbent President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to results of the all-Ukrainian sociological survey “Socio-Political Moods of Ukrainians: September 2021”, held by the Ukrainian Institute of the Future together with the sociological company New Image Marketing Group.
Zelensky’s rating rose 2% from June, the Institute said in a press release on Facebook on Monday, October 4.
“That is, 32% of those who have made up their minds and will go to the polls are now ready to vote for him. While the ratings of his closest competitors Poroshenko and Boiko dropped by 2% and 1%, respectively. Both have 12% among those who have made up their minds and will go to the polls. The fourth place is consistently occupied by Yulia Tymoshenko – 11% among those who have made up their minds and will go to the polls. At the same time, the rating of Groisman and Muraev increased to 7% among those who decided to go to the polls,” the release says.
It clarifies that young people under 24 years of age support Zelensky the most – 39% of respondents.
“Even in the East, Zelensky is ahead of Boiko – 27% to 16% respectively. Nevertheless, Donbas remains an openly problematic region for Zelensky – there he loses to Boiko unquestioningly – 16% to 29%.
Relatively little support in Donetsk and Luhansk regions correlates with low confidence in the incumbent head of state there and a greater proportion of those who support early presidential elections,” the release says.
In addition, if the elections to the Verkhovna Rada were held next Sunday, then 23% of those polled would vote for the Servant of the People party. The Opposition Platform is on the second and third place in terms of electoral preferences of 16% of citizens who decided to go to the polls, and the European Solidarity party – for 15% of those who decided to go to the polls.
Just like in the presidential rating, Yulia Tymoshenko’s Batkivschyna party ranks fourth – 14% among those who have made up their minds and will go to the polls. Ihor Smeshko’s “Strength and Honor” received fewer votes – 7% among those who decided to go to the polls.
“The Ukrainian Strategy of Groisman party and Yevhen Muraev’s Nashi Party did not overcome the 5% barrier in absolute terms, having received 4% each among those who decided to go to the elections. Also the party of Anatoliy Shariy and the party of Prytula got 3% each among those who decided to go to the polls. And the Holos party got 2% among those who decided to go to the polls,” the Institute reports.
They clarify that in comparison with the sentiments of respondents regarding participation in the presidential elections, the share of those wishing to vote for MPs is slightly lower – 70% declare their desire to vote in the parliamentary elections. However, 25% will not go to the parliamentary elections and will not vote. And another 5% of citizens were undecided.
All-Ukrainian sociological research “Socio-political moods of Ukrainians: September 2021” was conducted by the Ukrainian Institute of the Future together with the sociological company New Image Marketing Group among 2,400 respondents throughout Ukraine from September 18 to September 28, 2021. The margin of error is no more than 2%.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in New York to participate in the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, press secretary of the head of state Serhiy Nykyforov said.
“The presidential plane landed in New York,” Nykyforov told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, the speech of the President of Ukraine is expected on Wednesday, September 22, at about 16.40 (local time).
As part of the visit, the president’s speech at the UN General Assembly, a number of bilateral and multilateral meetings of the head of state and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba are planned.
“The President of Ukraine will meet with the UN Secretary General, NATO Secretary General, and the leaders of several major states, will hold a separate meeting with foreign investors. It will be a very eventful visit, which is scheduled literally by the minute,” the Ukrainian Foreign Minister said.
According to him, “Zelensky is consolidating international support for Ukraine in order to counter Russia’s aggression, raise investment and fight COVID-19 pandemic.”
On Tuesday, September 21, Zelensky is scheduled to meet with the presidents of Poland, Moldova and Georgia.
A possible future meeting of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with Russian President Vladimir Putin will be complicated, said Leonid Kuchma, the second president of Ukraine, ex-head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG).
“Everything is possible in life. The main thing is the desire of our president … We will be waiting for a signal from the other side. But this meeting is too complicated from all points of view. It seems to me that I could be wrong – the conversation will be in different languages,” Kuchma said in an interview with journalists at the YES Brainstorming forum.
According to him, it is not yet clear whether Putin is ready to meet in the framework of problems that now exist in Ukrainian-Russian relations and to take “specific steps.”
Kuchma added that the big question is whether it is worth “just going nowhere and coming with nothing.”
YES Brainstorming is a new format event for the Yalta European Strategy (YES) in partnership with the Victor Pinchuk Foundation. The topic of the meeting is entitled “After COVID Means Before the Disaster? Steps to Survival.”
The annual meetings of the Yalta European Strategy, a public organization that would facilitate the process of Ukraine’s accession to the EU, have been held since 2004 at the initiative of Victor Pinchuk. YES meetings have become an open platform for discussing new ideas and views on the development paths of Europe, Ukraine and the whole world.
Criminal proceedings against fifth president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, which were initiated at the request of oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, were closed before the visit of incumbent head of the country Volodymyr Zelensky to the United States, Poroshenko’s attorneys said.
“Literally synchronized with the flight of President Zelensky to the United States, criminal proceedings were closed, which at one time was registered at the request of Kolomoisky,” attorney-at-law Ihor Holovan said according to the European Solidarity party’s website.
United States President Joe Biden, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said the partnership between Kyiv and Washington will strengthen in the future.
“I am pleased to welcome President Zelensky to the Oval Office in the White House. During the celebration of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, the partnership between our countries is stronger than ever and will become even stronger,” Biden said during talks with Zelensky, the video of which made public by the Dom television channel in Telegram.
He also said that Ukraine and the United States have common values and goals, in particular, regarding the provision of peace and stability in Europe.
“Ukraine and the United States have common values. We are unswervingly committed to our long-term goal for Europe: to make it whole, free and peaceful,” the U.S. President said.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden will hold a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is paying a working visit to the United States.
The leaders’ talks are scheduled for 21:00 Kyiv time (14:00 local time) in the Oval Office of the White House, according to the public schedule of the U.S. President. The next event in Biden’s schedule is the weekly economic briefing at 4:30 p.m., which means that the presidents of the United States and Ukraine will not hold a joint briefing on the results of the talks.
