Polls, Plots and Pride

60% of domestic violence committed by veterans, and rising. Another party banned. Political news of the week

Polls

First, some polls. Naturally, given the realities of political freedoms in Ukraine, especially concerning war, peace, and the president, I recommend taking these figures as an underestimate of real pacifist sentiment.

According to a June 17 poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), Zelensky has lost 20% of his support over the past year. In September 2023, 77% supported the president, but now 56% do. 37% do not support him. 33% were ‘filled with admiration’ for the president in 2023, but now only 8% are. However, 70% agree that Zelensky should remain president until the end of martial law.

Another poll by the KIIS also showed that the amount of supporters of a negotiated end to the war has increased. If in May 2022 80% of those surveyed believed that Ukraine must not make any compromises in negotiations with Russia, now only 58% do. 65% believe that the question should be presented to Ukrainians as a national referendum, and only 25% disagree.

Plots

Bad polls aren’t the only thing president Zelensky has to worry about.

A strange intrigue began around the State Security Administration of Ukraine, which deals with the protection of, among other things, the president. Ten of its officers turned to president Zelensky with a complaint against the head of the SSA, Maksym Donets. They claim that Donets took power illegally. They also claim that Donets has severely handicapped the ability of SSA agents to conduct their activities, particularly in the Sumy region, bordering with Russia.

Donets, left

Particularly interestingly, they claimed that this is making it easier for those who wish to commit acts of violence against the president. The indignant officers asked Zelensky to appoint a new head of the SSA. On June 21, Zelensky fulfilled their request.

Violence

Evgeny Klopotenko, the celebrity chef employed by Madame Zelenskaya to (unsuccessfully) create Ukraine’s children’s school-menu, made some scandalous comments in a TV interview on June 17. He discussed his lifelong fascination with serial killers and sadism, claiming that his favorite book is "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" by the German writer Patrick Süskind. He stated the following:

Let me tell you: I would take some girl, kidnap her, and put her in a cage. I would feed her, watch how she behaves. It's a dream. It's just socially unacceptable, so I won't do it. But I sincerely want to.

Klopotenko

According to Igor Klimenko - the minister of internal affairs - in a June 21 interview to radiosvoboda, 60% of domestic violence is committed by soldiers and veterans. He stated that domestic violence has risen by 14% only this year. ‘The problem is that many people at the front learn how to kill in cold blood’.

According to a 2017 statistic, more than 60% of Ukrainian women suffer from domestic violence. According to OpenDataBot, the amount of police reports regarding domestic violence in 2024 rose by 36% as compared to 2023. However, the amount of cases that make it to a court of law has decreased. Where 83% of domestic violence cases made it t a court of law in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 only 64% did, the lowest such figure over the past 5 years.