37% of Bulgarians have a "positive" opinion of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the results of an Ipsos/Euronews survey.
For Hungarian President Viktor Orbán, approval in Bulgaria is even higher - 47%.
Bulgaria stands out as an exceptional case - the highest rating for Putin and Orban among the countries of the European Union (EU) in general.
In the European family as a whole, 79% of respondents have a "negative" opinion of the head of state wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in Ukraine. On the other hand, 10% have a "positive" opinion about it and 11% "don't know enough".
Condemnation is overwhelming: Finland (94% say "negative"), Sweden (91%), Denmark (91%), Poland (91%), Spain (90%), Portugal (89%), the Netherlands (88%) ) and France (80%) lead the ranking in condemning the Russian president.
The negative rate falls below the threshold of 60 percent in only four countries: Greece (59%), Hungary (57%), Slovakia (56%) and Bulgaria (48%).
Volodymyr Zelensky
Almost half of Europeans have a positive opinion of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but sentiment varies widely across member states.
47% of Europeans have a "positive" opinion of him, while 32% have a "negative" opinion. Meanwhile, 21% say they "don't know enough" about the president.
This makes Zelensky the most liked leader of the eight European figures polled by Ipsos, but the results for him have the strongest fluctuations.
In the Nordic region and the Iberian Peninsula, Zelensky received the highest "positive" ratings: 81% in Finland, 74% in Sweden, 72% in Denmark and Portugal and 64% in Spain.
In contrast, more than half of respondents in Hungary (60%), Greece (57%) and Bulgaria (56%) have a "negative" opinion of the Ukrainian president.
Other countries where the "negative" judgment outweighs the "positive" are Slovakia (50% vs. 26%), Austria (47% vs. 33%), Italy (41% vs. 32%) and the Czech Republic (37% vs. 36%). ).
The picture contrasts with the official line adopted by national governments: Giorgia Meloni of Italy and Petr Fiala of the Czech Republic are vocal supporters of Ukraine and defend the sanctions regime against Russia. The Czech Republic recently launched an initiative to deliver 800,000 rounds of ammunition to Kyiv on an expedited basis.
Another notable case is Germany, the EU's leading donor of military aid. According to the survey, Germans are far from a consensus in their assessment: 41% have a "positive" opinion of Zelensky and 36% have a "negative" opinion.
In Romania, where farmers have complained about cheap, duty-free grain coming from Ukraine, the divide is just as striking: 49% say "positive" and 40% say "negative." Poland, a country that has seen more violent protests on the same issue, is still in the "positive" camp (57%) rather than the "negative" (24%).
In terms of voting intentions ahead of the June elections, Zelensky scores the most among supporters of the main pro-European parties: the European People's Party (61%), the Socialists and Democrats (62%), the Renew Europe liberals (59%) and the Greens (63%). The "positive" rate drops to 47% with the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), the group that includes Meloni and Fiala.
The left is evenly split: 40% say "positive" and 42% say "negative."
Among supporters of the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID), "negative" opinion (53%) convincingly eclipses "positive" (26%).
Overall, Zelensky stands as a love-it-or-hate-it figure, evoking strong reactions on both sides of the debate. The rate of "I don't know enough" is limited for all countries, sexes, age groups, occupations, and party affiliations.
The survey also offers information on how Europeans feel about other prominent leaders on the continent.
French President Emmanuel Macron is second in the most liked rankings, with 41% of respondents saying they have a "positive" opinion of him, compared to 34% who say "negative". Unsurprisingly, the French are his harshest critics, with a full 62% choosing "negatively" and just 28% "positively".
Macron's popularity is high in Romania (57%), Greece (55%), Germany (53%), Denmark (52%) and the Netherlands (50%).
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz evokes more indifference: 38% of respondents said they "don't know enough" about the man who leads the bloc's biggest economy, while 29% expressed a "positive" view and 33% a "negative" .
Four countries stand out in their dislike of the 65-year-old socialist: Germany (61% say "negative"), Austria (47%), Greece (45%) and Poland (39%).
Regarding the Italian Giorgia Meloni, the Spanish Pedro Sanchez and the Polish Donald Tusk, the "I don't know enough" option dominates (respectively 43%, 58% and 50%). As a result, none of the three can be said to be particularly liked or disliked. Outside of Italy, Meloni faces disapproval only in Spain, where 44% have a "negative" opinion of her.
Interestingly, respondents in Romania strongly approve of Meloni (54%), Sanchez (49%) and Tusk (53%).
Hungary's Viktor Orbán is another special case: 48% of respondents have a "negative" opinion of him. Only 15% have a "positive" rating. The rest (37%) say they "don't know enough".
However, Orban enjoys great approval among Bulgarians: 47% "positive" against 24% "negative".
Sweden (65%) and Finland (64%), two countries whose NATO bids were delayed in part because of Orbán's tactics, register the strongest disapproval, closely followed by Romania (60%), Poland (58%), Austria (58%), the Netherlands (56%), Germany (53%) and Denmark (52%).
In Hungary, where Orbán rules with an absolute majority, 54% of participants have a "negative" opinion of their prime minister and 32% have a "positive" opinion. (The survey was conducted after the scandal that forced Hungarian President Katalin Novak to resign, which analysts described as the biggest test of Orbán's leadership.) /BGNES
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A total of 25,916 people were interviewed for the survey between 23 February and 5 March online and by telephone in 18 Member States, representing 96% of the EU population.
