Putin Suffers Record Popularity Plunge as Crisis Spirals
Vladimir Putin's approval rating has suffered its sharpest weekly fall since launching his Ukraine war in 2022, as a worsening fuel crisis appears to have struck a nerve with Russians.
A poll conducted by the Kremlin-linked Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) between July 10 and 12 found that 66 percent of respondents approved of Putin's performance as president, down from 71 percent just a week earlier, independent outlet Meduza reported.
The 5-point drop marks the steepest weekly decline recorded by FOM since the fall of 2022, when Putin announced Russia's partial military mobilization following battlefield setbacks in Ukraine.
Public trust in the Russian leader has also slipped. According to FOM, 67 percent of respondents said they trusted Putin, down 2 percentage points from the previous week. The figure was the least favorable recorded since the war began.
The slump appears to have been driven by Russia's deepening fuel crisis. For a second consecutive week, respondents named fuel shortages—not the war—as the country's biggest problem. Nineteen percent said Russia's fuel shortage was the nation's most pressing issue, compared with 18 percent who pointed to the war in Ukraine and 14 percent who cited attacks on Russian territory.
More than four years into Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv's relentless attacks on Russian oil refineries are increasingly being felt far beyond the front lines. Despite being the world's third-largest oil producer, accounting for more than 12 percent of global crude oil production, Russia has struggled to produce enough fuel to meet domestic demand.
Wholesale fuel prices have climbed, rationing has been introduced in several regions, and videos circulating on social media show motorists waiting in long lines to refuel in Moscow.
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Vladimir Putin's approval rating has suffered its sharpest weekly fall since launching his Ukraine war in 2022, as a worsening fuel crisis appears to have struck a nerve with Russians. A poll conducted by the Kremlin-linked Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) between July 10 and 12 found that 66 percent of respondents approved of Putin's performance as president, down from 71 percent just a week...
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