Pew: Majority of Americans express confidence in Zelensky amid Russian invasion

March 30 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has drawn positive ratings from Americans for his handling of international affairs after Russia invaded his country last month, according to a survey released Wednesday.

The Pew Research Center poll found that 72% of Americans have "a lot" or "some" confidence in Zelensky, higher than any other world leader included in the survey, while only 6% of Americans expressed confidence in Russian President Vladimir Putin after his decision to invade Ukraine.

Americans aged 65 and older were the most confident in Zelensky, with 49% expressing a lot of confidence in Zelensky compared to 28% of adults under 30.

Respondents who leaned Democrat were more likely than those who lean Republican to express confidence in Zelensky, with 80% of Democrats saying they had some or a lot of confidence in the Ukrainian leader compared to 67% of Republicans.

Putin drew a lack of confidence from both political parties with just 5% of Democrats and 7% of Republicans expressing confidence that he would do the right thing regarding world affairs.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also drew confidence from a slim majority of Americans, with 55% expressing confidence in Macron and 53% expressing confidence in Scholz.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has been warned by the United States against providing material support to Russia amid the invasion, received confidence from just 15% of Americans.

The poll was conducted through an online survey of 3,581 random U.S. adults who are members of the Pew Research Center's American Trends Panel from March 21 to 27.