The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology surveyed 1,015 respondents from Ukrainian-controlled territories in May–June 2026. Among 18 public figures — politicians, security officials, and military personnel. Key finding from sociologists: the security and defense sector leads trust ratings and significantly outpaces civilian politicians.

Two ways to read one table

If you look at the absolute level of trust — how many people answered "I trust" — Valery Zaluzhny leads with 73%. Robert Brodi (Madyar) and Kyrylo Budanov share second place — 70% each.

But there is another metric — the trust-distrust balance, which is the difference between those who trust and those who distrust. And here the picture is different:

• Robert Brodi (Madyar) — 70% trust, only 7% distrust → balance +63%
• Valery Zaluzhny — 73% / 21% → balance +52%
• Kyrylo Budanov — 70% / 22% → balance +48%
• Andrii Biletsky — 49% / 12% → balance +38% (and 33% of respondents did not even know who he was even with a prompt)
• Oleksandr Syrsky — not in the top three: in KIIS's January poll, he was trusted by 46%, distrusted by 40%

Madyar leads precisely in balance: fewer people know him than Zaluzhny, but among those who do know him, there are almost no critics. This is the phenomenon of "clean reputation without scale": recognition and trust have not yet aligned.

Why military figures beat politicians

The best balance among civilian politicians in the same poll — Kharkiv's Mayor Ihor Terekhov: +32%. This is half as much as Madyar's, and 20 points less than Syrsky's in his best months.

KIIS explains this directly: society is fixated on leaders who proved themselves during full-scale war. That is, trust in the military is not simply popularity, but a substitute for institutional legitimacy in conditions where elections are frozen.

Biletsky: recognition as a limitation

A separate story is Andrii Biletsky. A balance of +38% looks decent, but it hides a problem: a third of respondents did not know who he was even after a prompt from sociologists. KIIS directly notes that this means growth potential — if recognition increases, the figures could change significantly in either direction.

"It is precisely the figures in the security and defense sector who today lead trust ratings and significantly outpace civilian politicians. This reflects society's demand for leaders who proved themselves during full-scale war."

— KIIS, commentary on survey results May–June 2026

What this means beyond sociology

All five military figures on the list have a positive balance — a phenomenon absent among any group of civilian officials. Moreover, the poll does not cover Ukrainians abroad and residents of occupied territories — that is, it measures trust precisely among those living under active war conditions.

The question is not whether Madyar's rating will rise further: if drone forces receive greater public profile in the media — and if no resonant failures emerge — his trust balance could become the highest among any public figure in Ukraine by the end of 2026.