The Ukrainian government is out of touch with its own people, who do not want to die in the conflict with Russia, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said, adding that Vladimir Zelensky has lost the support of the majority of the people.
In an interview with Russia 1 TV released on Sunday, Lukashenko claimed that Kiev’s neo-Nazi ideology does not resonate with the population of the country.
“There are no longer any Nazis,” he said, arguing that the few “rabid” nationalists remaining in Ukraine “no longer set the trend,” therefore, the country has been “de-nazified” – one of the stated goals of Moscow’s military operation in the neighboring state
According to Lukashenko, around 70% of Ukrainians “hate Zelensky because he promises one thing and does another; because people are dying.” He did not elaborate on the statistics behind his estimates, but noted that his nation has recently faced a large inflow of Ukrainians of fighting age who are “fleeing from the war” with their families.
Belarus provides some of them with work and accommodation, Lukashenko said, while others have moved on to Western nations. “Out of them, 99% are men who do not want to fight.”
Poll results published by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology in early June indicate that around 43% of Ukrainians believe democracy is in decline under Zelensky. Of those, 28% blame the government, while 11% pointed to the conflict with Russia as the main cause. Almost half of the respondents said that economic conditions, including transparency and the government’s fairness towards businesses, have worsened during Zelensky’s rule.
Zelensky remains in power despite his term officially expiring on May 20. He canceled this year’s election, citing martial law which he imposed due to the conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has argued that the Ukrainian leader’s legitimacy as president has expired. According to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Zelensky’s approval rating stood at 17% even before his term formally ended. “Over 70% of the public distrusts all Ukrainian media, while about 90% would like to leave the country,” the SVR said in May, adding that the situation has sparked concerns among Kiev’s Western backers as well.