Public support for Reznikov as Minister of Defense has always been higher than for the current Minister Umerov – survey

The results of the all-Ukrainian survey conducted recently by the Sociological group “Rating” show that disapproval of the activities of the current Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umyerov, is growing in society, writes UNNreferring to the published results.

Average generalized indicators of approval/disapproval during September-October 2024 regarding the minister’s activities were distributed as follows: 7% – completely approve; 33% – rather approve; 20% – rather disapprove; 14% do not approve at all. At the same time, 26% did not have an answer.

In addition, if we consider these indicators in dynamics, starting from the moment Umerov was appointed as a minister, it becomes noticeable that the level of approval of his actions is decreasing. So, if in February 2024 (Umerov assumed the post of minister in September 2023) his activity was not approved at all by 12% of those surveyed, then in September – already 14%; in February of the same year, 16% of respondents rather disapproved of his activities, and in September this indicator had already reached 20%.

It is noteworthy that the indicators of disapproval of Oleksiy Reznikov’s activities as a minister were more modest – they reached their maximum in February 2023, and then 7% of respondents did not approve of his work at all, and rather did not approve – 13%. At the same time, the level of approval for Reznikov in the “crisis” February of 2023 was higher than for Umerov during his tenure: 26% of respondents in February indicated that they “completely approve” of Reznikov’s activities, and another 36% chose the position “rather approve “. The former minister also had a lower uncertainty index, which may indicate a higher level of public awareness of Reznikov’s activities as a minister.

For reference

The survey was conducted by the Sociological Group “Rating” on the order of the Center for Analysis and Sociological Research of the International Republican Institute. The survey was conducted throughout Ukraine (except the occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas) from September 27 to October 1, 2024. The survey method is telephone interviews with the use of a computer based on a random sample of mobile numbers. A total of n=2,000 residents of Ukraine aged 18 and over were interviewed. The sample does not include Ukrainians who are not currently in Ukraine. The error of representativeness of the study with a confidence probability of 0.95 does not exceed 2.2%. The coefficient of respondents’ reach is 7%.