Ukrainian youth are more favorable toward Trump and Orbán than the older generation, according to a poll

Younger people in Ukraine trust Kyiv’s traditional allies less and are more loyal and tolerant toward controversial leaders such as Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, and Viktor Orbán. The older generation, by contrast, gives the highest trust ratings to Ukraine’s key Western partners.

This is according to data from a sociological study conducted for Slovo i Dilo.

The survey was carried out from March 18 to March 25, 2026, using an online poll of a representative sample of 1,200 internet users aged 18 and older across the territory of Ukraine, excluding temporarily occupied territories. The statistical margin of error, with a probability of 0.95, does not exceed 2.89%. The poll was conducted on the specialized survey platform Lemur using the CAWI method (Computer Assisted Web Interviewing).

A clear correlation is observed: the older the respondents, the higher the trust score they assign to Ukraine’s key Western partners. Ursula von der Leyen and Keir Starmer surpass the 3.0 mark, indicating positive trust, only in the group aged 55 and older (3.05 and 3.06 respectively). At the same time, young people aged 18–29 show significantly more restraint toward all of Ukraine’s “friends,” rating them in the range of 2.48 to 2.65. This suggests either higher expectations or a certain skepticism about the pace of support for Ukraine.

At the same time, respondents aged 18–29 are less radical in their attitude toward controversial political figures such as Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, and Viktor Orbán. Although these politicians received the lowest scores across all groups, younger people still view them more favorably than older respondents do:

• Donald Trump — 1.79 among youth versus 1.42 in the 55+ group
• Viktor Orbán — 1.45 among youth versus 1.23 in the 55+ group
• Xi Jinping — 1.64 among youth versus 1.34 in the 55+ group

In terms of gender distribution, the picture is as follows: women trust women leaders significantly more. Ursula von der Leyen received 2.95 points from women versus 2.77 from men. Men, meanwhile, give higher ratings to leaders associated with complex economic or security issues — Donald Tusk (2.72) and Friedrich Merz (2.74) are viewed more favorably by male respondents than by female ones.

It should also be noted that Kyiv and northern Ukraine are “bastions” of trust in European leaders. There, Ursula von der Leyen (3.08) and Keir Starmer (2.98) have their highest ratings.

The south and east, by contrast, are more reserved even toward Ukraine’s allies. For example, Emmanuel Macron scores 2.58 in the south compared with 2.89 in central Ukraine.