Page 13 - UKRRptMay20

The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) asked respondents
from across Ukraine about some of the latest political controversies​, as
well as the biggest difficulties the country is currently facing. ​Among those
keeping up with politics, 44% viewed President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
positively​, 31% were neutral and 25% viewed him negatively.
Just 6% of KIIS respondents had positive views of Zelenskiy’s Chief of
Staff, Andriy Yermak​, who has only been in office since February. Yermak’s reputation recently took a hit after a Servant of the People MP leaked a video
on March 29, which allegedly shows his brother, Denys Yermak, attempting to sell government positions for personal profit. The accusations are now subject
to an official corruption investigation. A third (32%) of the survey respondents
had heard about the scandal. Among them, 38% believed that Zelenskiy
should ask Yermak to resign. Half thought that the President should suspend
Yermak from office for the duration of the investigation, and then decide
whether or not to fire him based on the results.
Another 60% of those surveyed by KIIS did not support the Verkhovna
Rada’s decision to pass the land market bill​. When asked how they would
vote in a hypothetical nationwide referendum on agricultural land sales, 74% of
respondents said they would vote against opening up the market. Meanwhile,
only about a third of respondents believed it would be best for Ukraine to
cooperate with the IMF to secure new loans. 46% do not think IMF cooperation
is the right way to go.
On the government handling of the coronavirus pandemic 46% felt that
the government is successfully counteracting ​the spread of the disease,
Kyiv International Institute for Sociology found 29% of Ukrainians have a positive view of Parliamentary Speaker Dmytro Razumkov ​(compared to 37% in December). Only 12% have a positive view of Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov, 11% have a positive view of Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal (65% have a neutral view of him, being appointed on March 4), and only 6% have a positive view of President’s Office Head Andriy Yermak (appointed on February 11). About 35% have a negative view of Avakov, and 38% have a negative view of Yermak.
About 70% of the public believes the Ukrainian government has not succeeded in halting the warfare in Donbas according to KIIS, ​and establishing peace, according to the same poll.
About 75% believe the government hasn’t succeeded in fighting corruption at the highest echelons of government says KIIS​, while 48% believe it hasn’t succeeded in combatting the coronavirus pandemic in Ukraine. About 40% believe it has succeeded so far. About 70% of the public believes the government has failed to provide adequate access to medical services. About 65% believes it has failed to combat the economic crisis and support domestic producers.
According to the latest statistics from the ​Kyiv-based research agency Info Sapiens​, Ukrainians are divided on Zelensky’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic​. A survey conducted between March 25 and 29 reveals that while 49% of respondents are “completely or rather confident” in the president’s actions in the fight against COVID-19, 45% are either “completely or rather unsure.”
Some 33% of Ukrainian citizens who left Poland due to quarantine are interested in the opportunity to go back​, and 51% of Ukrainians in Poland
while 43% think they are not. That said, 54% of respondents were more
concerned about the economic impact of the quarantine restrictions than the
coronavirus epidemic itself.
13​ UKRAINE Country Report​ May 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com