U.S. President Donald Trump lauded the “very good relationship” he has developed with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at the NATO summit in Turkey on July 8, 2026.

In a meeting of the pair that lacked the acrimony of earlier encounters, Trump added that Ukraine has “such great people,” too. He has expressed different views privately in the past.

But what do everyday Ukrainians think of Trump?

For more than a decade, we have organized and conducted public opinion polls in Ukraine. While polling has become more difficult since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, our surveys have provided a window into Ukrainian public opinion in the territories not occupied by Russia.

In our latest survey, we drilled down on how Ukrainians felt toward Trump and his administration’s diplomatic efforts, and toward Americans more generally.

Fielded by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, we arranged for a computer-aided telephone survey of 1,801 Ukrainians across government-controlled Ukraine from June 9-26, 2026.

Here’s what we learned:

Trump is seen as more enemy than friend

Trump has openly expressed his admiration of Russian President Vladimir Putin on many occasions. When he returned to office, Trump initiated a sharp break from the policies of his predecessor Joe Biden. The U.S. now sends less military aid to Ukraine, although U.S.-made arms continue to flow to the country thanks to European funding. A promised US$400 million military........

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