Zelensky Trust Rating Rises After Trump Dispute
A poll shows a 14-percentage-point increase in Ukrainian President Zelensky's trust rating following public disagreements with Donald Trump.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Zelensky Trust Rating Rises After Trump Dispute
Photograph: The Independent (US) (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's trust rating rose 14 percentage points to 57% following a public dispute with Donald Trump.
- Donald Trump agreed to purchase Russian diesel and paused sanctions, according to reports.
- US senators confirmed disruptions to Starlink satellite links and US intelligence sharing.
- South Korea is withdrawing some embassy staff from Kyiv.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 8 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
60/100
Hype
40/100
8 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's trust rating increased by 14 percentage points to 57% following a public dispute with Donald Trump. The poll, conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), surveyed 1,031 Ukrainian citizens aged 18 and older. Between October 8 and 9, 43% of respondents trusted Zelensky, while 52% did not. By October 10-16, his trust rating rose to 57%, with 39% distrusting him. The overall figures for the full survey period (October 8-16) showed 54% trusting Zelensky.
The dispute involved Donald Trump agreeing to purchase Russian diesel and pausing sanctions, actions reported by The Independent and The Kyiv Independent. US senators confirmed disruptions to Starlink satellite links and US intelligence sharing, according to The Independent. In separate diplomatic developments, South Korea is withdrawing some embassy staff from Kyiv, as reported by The Independent and The Kyiv Independent.
Disagreement on poll timing
The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) poll surveyed Ukrainians between October 8 and 16. The Kyiv Independent reported that Zelensky's trust rating rose to 57% between October 10 and 16, from 43% between October 8 and 9. The Independent stated that Zelensky's trust rating surged by 14 percentage points to 57% following the public dispute with Trump, without specifying the exact dates of the poll's measurement periods.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated or centre-rated reports mention the detail that Donald Trump agreed a deal to purchase Russian diesel and paused sanctions, a fact reported by The Independent. The left-rated reports did not mention South Korea withdrawing some embassy staff from Kyiv, a fact reported by The Independent and The Kyiv Independent.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 20 Oct 2026, 15:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a joint news conference with US President Donald Trump's Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sept. 6, 2026. (Yuliia Ovsiannikova/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The Kyiv Independent — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
5 rated outlets
- Four left-rated reports focused on the rise in Zelensky's trust rating. United24media, Kyiv Post, and charter97.org all highlighted the increase to 57% following US pressure or conflict with Trump. United24media and Kyiv Post noted the poll was conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. Kyiv Post included a warning from the institute that the increase might not last, attributing it to a potential “rally-around-the-flag” effect. Charter97.org stated that Ukrainians supported the President in the conflict with Trump.
Centre
1 rated outlet
- The centre-rated report from The Kyiv Independent detailed the poll's findings, stating Zelensky's trust rating rose by 14 percentage points to 57% after US President Donald Trump began a pressure campaign. It provided specific figures from the KIIS poll, showing a shift from 43% trust to 57% trust between October 8-9 and October 10-16. The report also noted Trump's plan to purchase Russian diesel and his order for Ukraine to stop attacking Russian oil refineries. It mentioned South Korea withdrawing embassy staff from Kyiv due to a dispute over Ukraine's public disclosure of North Korean prisoners of war.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Zelensky Trust Rating Rises After Trump Dispute?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 83% are rated left, 17% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 8. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Zelensky Trust Rating Rises After Trump Dispute left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Zelensky Trust Rating Rises After Trump Dispute biased?
- Zelensky Trust Rating Rises After Trump Dispute is one event reported by 8 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Zelensky Trust Rating Rises After Trump Dispute?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Zelensky Trust Rating Rises After Trump Dispute?
- 8 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What was President Zelensky's trust rating?
- President Zelensky's trust rating rose by 14 percentage points to 57% following a public dispute with Donald Trump. The poll, conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, showed that between October 8 and 9, 43% of Ukrainians trusted Zelensky, and this figure increased to 57% between October 10 and 16.
- What was the nature of the dispute between Zelensky and Trump?
- The dispute involved Donald Trump agreeing to purchase Russian diesel and pausing sanctions. Reports also indicated that US senators confirmed disruptions to Starlink satellite links and US intelligence sharing. Trump had also repeatedly criticised Zelensky, suggesting Ukraine should find someone else to negotiate peace.
- Which organisations were involved in reporting this story?
- The story was reported by The Independent, The Kyiv Independent, United24, Kyiv Post, charter97.org, and liga.net. The poll itself was conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).
Read it at the source
8 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
5- Zelensky’s approval rating up as relations with Trump turn icy (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Zelensky’s approval rating up as relations with Trump turn icy (opens The Independent (US) in a new tab)
The Independent (US) — is The Independent (US) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trust in Zelenskyy Rises to 57% Following US Pressure on Kyiv, Survey Shows (opens United24 in a new tab)
- Trust in Zelensky Rises to 57% After US Pressure, Poll Finds (opens Kyiv Post in a new tab)
- The Ranking of Zelensky Has Grown Considerably. (opens charter97.org in a new tab)
charter97.org — is charter97.org biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
1Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
2How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
