KYIV, July 11 — The shift in Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s political trajectory is becoming harder to ignore. The wartime president, once a comedian who swept into office with 73.2 percent of the vote in 2019, now governs a nation locked in a grinding conflict, his approval rating settling into a more measured zone after the surge of the invasion’s first days. Zelenskyy, born January 25, 1978, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, entered politics from an unusual launchpad.
He starred in the television series “Servant of the People” from 2015 to 2019, playing a teacher who unexpectedly becomes president. In 2018, he founded a political party with the same name, and the following year he defeated incumbent Petro Poroshenko in a landslide second-round victory.
He took office on May 20, 2019. The trend underneath his presidency, however, is the war. Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, transformed Zelenskyy from a domestic political figure into a global symbol of Ukrainian resistance.
He delivered speeches to parliaments around the world, pressing for Western military and financial aid. His approval rating spiked to over 90 percent in early 2022, according to polls by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.
The Numbers Shift
That rating has since declined to around 60 percent in 2025, the same polling institute found. The decline reflects a longer war, mounting casualties, and the grinding reality of a conflict with no clear end date. Zelenskyy’s diplomatic efforts continue, including a proposed 10-point peace formula that calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops, restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and security guarantees.
He has also made claims of peace supporters within Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, part of his ongoing push to find diplomatic openings.
What’s Changing
Zelenskyy’s role has evolved from wartime communicator to a leader managing both a battlefield and a diplomatic front. The 10-point peace formula is his clearest framework for what an end to the war might look like, but it demands concessions from Russia that, as of now, show no sign of being offered. The question now is whether his domestic standing can hold as the war grinds into its fifth year.
The 60 percent approval figure from 2025 is still high by most political standards, but it marks a significant drop from the near-unanimous support of early 2022. For a leader who once played a president on television, the real-world script offers no easy exits.
