Russia behind Trump's false claim of 4% approval rating, Zelensky says

Ukraine understands that U.S. President Donald Trump's false claim that President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a 4% approval rating comes from Russia, Zelensky said during a press conference on Feb. 19.

"We saw this disinformation. We understand it comes from Russia. We understand, and we have evidence that those figures have been discussed between the U.S. and Russia," Zelensky said.

Trump made the claim on Feb. 18 without providing evidence, presenting it as an argument that Ukraine should hold elections soon. Speaking the same day when a U.S. delegation met top Russian officials for talks in Saudi Arabia without Ukraine's participation, Trump also laid the blame for the war on Kyiv.

Kremlin propaganda has pushed the narrative that Zelensky is an illegitimate leader, relying on the premise that his first presidential term was originally meant to end on May 20, 2024.

The false allegation ignores the fact that the Ukrainian constitution prohibits elections during martial law, which went into effect after Russia launched the full-scale invasion in 2022.

While voicing his respect for Trump and the American people, Zelensky said that the U.S. president "sadly lives in this disinformation space." Zelensky also pointed to the latest survey that put the president's approval rating at 57%, adding that efforts to replace him at this moment would not be successful.