Ukraine's 'Mood Swing' Against Zelensky: Widespread Fraud, Wartime Protests, Unpopular Dismissals

The mainstream media is turning on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and more and more of his population may be doing the same, at a moment of multiple high level corruption cases running straight through the presidential office.

To review, this was the second straight summer that controversial decisions by Zelensky sparked rare war time protests in Ukraine. In summer of 2025, Zelensky moved to weaken and de-legitimize two key national anti-corruption bodies. After, he came under immense pressure, also from Europe, and was forced to reverse course.

Then in July of this year, he dismised his popular young defense minister amid a major military reshuffling, which appears to be ongoing. Mykhailo Fedorov had been just six months on the job, and Ukrainians were by and large pleased with his strategy and direction in the war.

A sort of internal civil war had been raging between top military command and defense ministry ranks. Zelensky's intervention and final reshuffle remains highly controversial and unpopular.

Days ago, the 'esteemed' and very establishment journal, Foreign Policy ran a surprise headline strongly suggesting a popular swing among the citizenry against his rule, which has been extended amid canceled elections and martial law: 

Ukraine’s Mood Swing: Public sentiment is turning against Zelensky amid corruption concerns and weariness with his rule.

"For most of his presidency and especially since Russia launched its full-scale war, Ukrainian voters have rallied around Volodymyr Zelensky as a pillar of national resilience and unity," the FP report introduces of the 'good ole days'. "That’s for good reason: He has been an effective wartime leader and helped mobilize the democratic world on Ukraine’s behalf.

"But now, after more than seven years in office, four and a half years of war with Russia, and a series of scandals involving his leadership team and close friends, Zelensky appears to have lost the nation’s political support," it then adds. "Indeed, polling published in early August points to a major mood swing among Ukrainians, suggesting that many of them have lost faith in Zelensky and would vote him out of office at the earliest opportunity."

Following on this, the NY Times on Sunday detailed how Ukraine lost around $1.2 billion to fraud, waste and mismanagement in military procurement activities. This was in 2024 alone, the paper found, based on confidential documents and audits.

The NYT characterized the waste and fraud as a "persistent phenomenon" led by seven large military contractors in Ukraine, all of which kept landing new large contracts despite ongoing fraud investigations into them.

One section of the Times report reads as follows:

But even as the officials noticed that weapons were arriving faulty, government audits obtained by The New York Times show, Ukraine’s Defense Procurement Agency continued to award Mr. Shyman’s factory new contracts.

The case reflects a persistent phenomenon of the war in Ukraine. Seven of Ukraine’s top 10 military contractors won new business despite open criminal investigations for fraud, failures to deliver on earlier deals or the arrest of chief executives for corruption, according to the government audits obtained by The Times, court records and Ukrainian news accounts.

The devastating report concludes that in Ukraine, wrongdoing is continually 'rewarded' with new opportunities and contracts, at a moment hundreds of billions in European and US aid continues to get doled out.

You don't see THIS everyday...

Recent polling points to a major mood swing among Ukrainians, suggesting that many have lost faith in Zelensky and would vote him out of office at the earliest opportunity. https://t.co/vXbR8ysjxD

— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) September 6, 2026

President Trump has long criticized certain elements of Zelensky's extended rule, even calling him out for resisting calls to hold new national elections, but more recently began to hail 'results' against Russia on the military front, given the persisting long-range drone program which has wreaked havoc on Russian energy infrastructure. 

But as the mainstream continues to 'turn' on Zelensky (and possibly the military too), and given more and more instances of a population 'mood swing' - how long does he have? The clock is ticking.