Putin raging as bombshell poll reveals what Russians really think of him

Vladimir Putin’s approval rating among his people has plunged at its fastest single-week pace since the invasion of Ukraine, new data has revealed. The survey of 1,600 Russians, conducted between June 22 and June 28 by the state-run pollster VTsIOM, shows Putin’s job approval rating has dropped to 66.9% – down from 70.4% the previous week.

The percentage of respondents indicating they disapprove of how he is handling the presidency stood at 21.3%, up from 19.7%. His trust rating also saw a notable decline – from 76.7% to just 73.3%. The latest figures, which coincide with a fuel shortage across Russia, follow a decision by the state-run pollster last month to stop publishing results from an open-ended trust survey after that indicator fell to its lowest level since 2022.

According to The Moscow Times, some experts have said the decline is significant, given that Russians are typically reluctant to speak candidly in these polls for fear of punishment from the authorities if they express views critical of the government.

Putin’s lowest job approval rating since the start of the war was recorded in April, according to VTsIOM, when it fell to 65.6% amid growing frustration over constant internet blackouts and restrictions on Telegram.

This week’s damning VTsIOM poll comes after independent pollster Levada Center released its own data this week showing Putin’s job approval rating plunging to 74% in June, down from 79% in May.

Russia has been forced to implement fuel restrictions, including rationing and export bans, as a result of widespread Ukrainian drone strikes knocking out major Russian oil refineries. These capacity losses have triggered severe domestic shortages, leading to rationing in over 50 regions and the lowering of national fuel quality standards.

In at least 18 federal regions – including Moscow, St. Petersburg and annexed Crimea – local governments have mandated limits. Purchases at major stations like Rosneft, Lukoil, and Tatneft are capped, usually between 20 and 60 litres per vehicle, with sales to gas cans banned to prevent hoarding.

In Crimea, state emergency measures have intermittently halted public petrol sales entirely, prioritising only emergency vehicles.

In a bid to stabilise the domestic market, the federal government has extended export bans and is reportedly in negotiations with other countries, such as Kazakhstan, to purchase gasoline. It comes after Putin himself estimated Russia’s total gasoline reserves at 1.7 million metric tons – a 4% decline from the same period last year.

Over the past few weeks, Ukraine has conducted a highly coordinated, deep-strike drone campaign targeting Russia’s domestic energy infrastructure in a bid to choke military supply lines and starve the Kremlin of vital war revenue. On June 16 and 18, the Moscow Oil Refinery was hit by successive waves of attacks, causing severe damage to its processing units. Industry sources report the refinery is crippled and will remain entirely offline for at least six months.