Russians are turning against Putin as popularity tumbles hours after UK intercepts ship

A leaked report shows that Russians are growing dissatisfied with despotic dictator Vladimir Putin, according to Ukraine leader President Volodymyr Zelensky

Russians are growing more and more fed up with their leader Vladimir Putin and the ongoing war with neighbouring Ukraine, according to apparently leaked documents obtained by Ukrainian intelligence.

The documents, which included approval rating forecasts relating to the Russian leader, were published hours after a Russian ship was boarded by UK forces, and were posted by President Volodymyr Zelensky. They paint a picture of a deeply divided Russia just four months before Russia’s upcoming parliamentary elections.

Taking to social media site Telegram, the Ukrainian leader posted pictures of what appears to be approval ratings, writing: “support for the Russian ruling party [is seeing] a steady downward trend, which means that much greater falsifications are necessary.

“There are also reports of a significant increase in protest sentiment in Russian regions. We believe that these reports do not even take into account the potential events of June, July, and August, which cannot but affect the situation in Russia additionally.”

While Russia has experienced several anti-reigime protests since the outbreak of the war, local reporting on them is often limited and suppressed.

Those that do speak out against the reigime and the war with Ukraine can often receive harsh penalties, including former television presenter Marina Ovsyannikova who faced 10 years in a gulag for a live anti-war protest on state television.

In March, Marina Ovsyannikova hijacked a news bulletin by storming onto the set of Russia’s most-watched news show with a poster saying: “They’re lying to you here” and “Stop the War!”

The journalist at Russia’s main evening newscast Vremya, on Channel One, eventually was forced to flee after she was put under criminal investigation over another anti-war protest near the Kremlin.

Zelensky thanked the Ukrainian security services for obtaining the report, and slammed his rival leader for not being “truthful” and “without embellishment”.

He wrote: “Thank you to all the friends of Ukraine and everyone who helps us obtain important information and supports Ukrainian intelligence operations.

“There were reports from our intelligence services on the results of the work on assessing the internal Russian situation and obtaining documents that end up on the table of the Russian leader.

“We understand that Putin is rarely brought completely truthful information without embellishment. But even what he sees in the documents that come to him still allows us to draw conclusions.”

The post comes hours after UK forces intercepted a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the English channel for the first time.

Writing on X, the prime minister said the operation “delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling Putin’s war in Ukraine that we will not let them hide”.

He added: “I want to thank those involved, including our Armed Forces and law enforcement officers who keep this country safe 24 hours a day, 365 days a year”.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Royal Marine commandos and specially trained law enforcement officers from the National Crime Agency boarded a sanctioned oil tanker during a six-hour operation – the first UK-led operation of its kind.