Key developments on June 12:
Some 61% of Ukrainian citizens trust President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to a new poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted between 7 May and 3 June 2026. Meanwhile, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov tops the trust-balance ranking among Ukrainian political and public figures at +32%, followed by Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov at +29% and Zelenskyy at +27%.
Terekhov leads as Mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, which has been under sustained Russian missile and drone attack since 2022. Fedorov leads Ukraine's drone-development push and the broader $113 million "Logistics Lockdown" rear-area strike program announced in May.
Among the 61% who trust Zelenskyy, 33% reported "complete" trust and 28% "rather" trust. Among the 34% who do not trust him, 20% reported "complete" distrust and 13% "rather" distrust. The 5% remaining were undecided or refused to answer.
Compared with KIIS's April 2026 reading, trust and distrust shares are within the margin of error, with the trust-distrust balance improving slightly from +22% to +27%.
KIIS noted a methodological nuance specific to this round: questions were asked about 18 different public figures in random order, and a weak correlation emerged: respondents who were asked about Zelenskyy later in the sequence trusted him slightly more than those who were asked earlier.
KIIS's trust-balance ranking among politicians and public-political figures:
Zelenskyy's 61% absolute trust is the highest in the ranking. But the trust-balance metric, which weights both trust and distrust, places two other figures above him: Terekhov and Fedorov.
Liashko and Prytula, despite having relatively high absolute trust (47% and 46%), have correspondingly high distrust (43% and 44%). The ranking thus differentiates two distinct kinds of public support: consensus support (Terekhov, Fedorov, Zelenskyy, Kim) versus polarized support (Liashko, Prytula).
The KIIS poll surveyed 2,007 Ukrainian citizens aged 18 and older via computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI), using random sampling of mobile phone numbers, exclusively in territory under the control of the Ukrainian government. It means that the data does not include displaced Ukrainians abroad or Ukrainians in Russian-occupied territories.
Ukraine has built 822 kilometers of anti-drone protection along frontline logistics routes since the start of 2026 and has restored more than 170 kilometers of damaged regular roads in frontline oblasts, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov says. In May alone, Ukraine's State Special Transport Service built 211 km of new anti-drone protection.
Russian FPVs and reconnaissance UAVs hunting Ukrainian vehicles within 15-30 km of the front have forced Ukraine to build a permanent national infrastructure for drone-protected movement on its own side.
Anti-drone protection on Ukrainian frontline roads typically takes the form of overhead netting tunnels, wire-mesh canopies, and reinforced barriers along sections of road within reach of Russian FPV drone operators.
The structures intercept FPVs before they strike vehicles, allowing supply trucks, casualty-evacuation vehicles, and personnel rotations to move along otherwise lethal stretches of road.
In May 2026, Ukraine restored 38 km of previously damaged protected segments and rebuilt 115.5 km of standard frontline roads.
The combination of new construction, maintenance, and regular road repair reflects the operational reality that Russian strikes constantly attrit the network even as Ukraine extends it.
"Each protected kilometer means safer logistics, faster supply, casualty evacuation, and safer military movement even under constant threat of drone attacks," Fedorov said.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's offensive logistics campaign has driven Russia to restrict civilian transport on its main occupied-territory highways. Russia is reportedly banning regular bus services on the R-280 "Novorossiya" route and the R-150 Belgorod-Mariupol highway after Ukrainian drones.
Ukraine, on its own side, is building physical infrastructure, such as netting, wire, and barriers, to keep its own logistics moving under the same drone pressure that Russia is failing to manage on the other side of the line.
Meanwhile, Russia has installed anti-drone nets at its facilities, such as the Velikolukskaya oil depot in Velikiye Luki, Pskov Oblast.
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