Kremlin Preparing Putin for Rising Public Anger Ahead of Russian Elections, Zelenskyy Says

Ukrainian intelligence has obtained internal Russian documents prepared for leader Vladimir Putin that show growing public dissatisfaction with his rule and declining support for Russia’s ruling party ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for September, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on June 14.

According to Zelenskyy, the reports indicate that Kremlin officials are already preparing Putin for the likelihood that public discontent will continue to rise in the coming months and will not stabilize before the vote.

“We understand that Putin is rarely given completely truthful information without embellishment. But even what he sees in the documents that reach him still allows certain conclusions to be drawn,” Zelenskyy said in his recent post on Sunday.

The president said Ukrainian intelligence services had obtained documents that reach the Russian leader’s desk and provide assessments of Russia’s internal political situation.

According to Zelenskyy, the reports forecast a steady increase in public dissatisfaction with Putin and warn that “this indicator will not reach a plateau” before Russia’s parliamentary elections in September.

He also said the documents show a persistent decline in support for the ruling United Russia party. “As for the level of support for Russia’s ruling party, a stable downward trend is being recorded, which means the need for significantly greater falsifications,” Zelenskyy said.

The reports also point to growing protest sentiment across Russian regions, according to the Ukrainian president. “Substantial growth in protest moods in Russian regions is also being reported,” he said.

Zelenskyy argued that the assessments may not yet account for developments expected during the summer months. “We believe these reports do not yet take into account potential events of June, July and August, which cannot but additionally affect the situation in Russia,” he said.

The president added that pressure on Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine would continue to increase. “Fair pressure on Russia for this war will continue and will grow—not only our pressure,” Zelenskyy said.

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Commenting on prospects for ending the war, Zelenskyy said Moscow continues to reject Ukrainian peace proposals while Ukraine remains ready to negotiate a settlement.

“Unfortunately, all public and non-public peace proposals we have made have been met only with words about continuing this war,” he said. “Ukraine proposes reaching an agreement on a dignified peace.”

Zelenskyy also suggested that if current trends continue, future negotiations may eventually have to take place with a different Russian leadership. “Over time, this may mean that an agreement will have to be concluded with someone else from Russia—someone who will not shut themselves off from reality,” he said.

Earlier, Financial Times reported in March that Vladimir Putin had asked Russia’s wealthiest businessmen to make direct financial contributions to the state budget, highlighting growing pressure on the Kremlin’s finances as military spending continued to rise amid the war against Ukraine. According to the report, several oligarchs agreed to provide billions of rubles in support.

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