On November 17, Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, announced that the support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had fallen as much as 40% in just the past week. He said the figure was based on surveys conducted immediately after a large-scale corruption scandal was exposed.
In a video posted by Strana media channel, Zheleznyak affirmed: "The polls I have watched show that Zelensky's support is currently below 20%."
The reason for the decline in reputation is said to be the "Midas Campaign", a large-scale energy corruption investigation released by the National Anti-Corruption Agency of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Prosecutor's Office (SAP) on November 10.
The case targets close allies of President Zelensky, including businessman Timur Mindich, German Justice Minister Galushchenko and former Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Chernyshov.
The searches were conducted at the state-owned energy company Energoatom and the suspects' private homes. NABU has also released recordings, revealing discussions about corruption.
In addition to businessman Mindich and Attorney General Galushchenko, the allegations also target former Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Chernyshov, who is also seen as a close ally of Mr Zelensky. Several other individuals are also being investigated, including the former energy minister's adviser, Energoatom's safety chief executive and many other businessmen.
A noteworthy detail is that businessman Timur Mindich is believed to have left the country just hours before the searches began.
The 40% drop in support in one week was a heavy blow to Zelensky's reputation, in the context of his administration that has faced a lot of criticism. Lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak himself on November 5 harshly criticized the government's winter aid package.
He called the plan to spend $24 per capita a "disaster of the people" and an act of wasting the budget when the country is running low and dependent on foreign aid.
Analysts said that the "people's heart" support package appeared to be an attempt to appease public opinion before the "Midas Campaign" corruption scandal broke out, but failed.
The decline in support to below 20% puts Mr. Zelensky in a very difficult situation, weakening his position both domestically and internationally, especially as Kiev continues to pressure the West to provide more financial and military aid packages.
