KYEU (Reuters) – How long will that effort last? Every night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers a video speech to raise morale. She strives to inspire the soldiers in the middle of the war against the Russian aggressor and to keep the world’s attention on the difficult situation of her country.
Mr Zelensky has won various arms deals from Western countries. After refusing to start supplying any lethal weapons, the West recently decided to supply main battle tanks that could help Ukraine counterattack. Taboos have been broken one after another.
The 45-year-old Zelensky, who took office in 2019, shows no signs of letting up.
However, it is the same for the opponent. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched a “special military operation” against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, appears to be preparing for a long war.
Few expected the “monster” of President Zelensky when Russian troops entered over the border. Zelensky, a former TV comedy actor, was facing declining approval ratings at the time as public anger over widespread political corruption, a sluggish economy and lack of governance grew.
Before the invasion, as Russia massed troops on its border with Ukraine, many foreign embassies and businesses tried to leave Ukraine. President Zelensky has criticized the move for hurting Ukraine’s economy, and at least seemed to think a full-scale invasion was unlikely.
“Zelensky” is now a household name around the world and a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance. Domestically, his approval rating has tripled, and he is showing exceptional stability.
As well as his friendly and gentle personality when welcoming new guests at the heavily guarded presidential palace, Mr Zelensky wears the same khaki military T-shirt when interacting with the royal family and inspecting troops on the front line n give the impression of a sense of stability and strength of unwavering will.
However, challenges still abound. He claims he needs new Western fighter jets to push back Russian forces, but he has yet to secure them. The promise of early accession to the European Union (EU) has not materialized either. The possibility of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military alliance, is not in sight either.
Despite occasional dark circles under his eyes and a tired expression, Mr Zelensky shows no signs of slowing down. In January, he reshuffled his cabinet to ease public anger over a corruption scandal.
“Zelensky surprised many people. They underestimated his leadership,” said Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst in Kyiv.
“Putin was preparing for a limited special operation, not a full-scale war, because he believed that President Zelensky and the Ukrainian army were too weak to withstand long-term resistance.
Shortly after Russia launched its invasion, with the fate of Ukraine hanging in the balance, President Zelensky took a smartphone selfie and declared that neither he nor Ukraine would stop fighting.
“Ya Tut,” said Mr. Zelensky. It means “I am here”.
This was the start of Mr Zelensky’s social media “offensive” since the war began. Application, we continue to send a simple message “We will win”.
A Reuters reporter saw Ukrainian soldiers in a bunker near the frontline shedding tears as they watched Mr Zelensky’s New Year’s speech.
“This is the year Ukraine will change the world. The world has discovered Ukraine. We were told to surrender, but we chose to fight back,” said Zelensky.
Putin, in contrast, often appears quiet and detached, hiding in the presidential palace, issuing threatening words to the West and Ukraine, and appearing in public except for staged events.
Heads of state, dignitaries and celebrities from other countries travel on long trains to Kyiv to meet Mr Zelensky at the presidential palace overlooking the city. Billions of dollars in aid from other countries are also pouring in.
According to his aides, since the start of the invasion, Mr Zelensky has held 377 telephone conversations with leaders of other countries and heads of international organisations, made 41 speeches before national parliaments and citizens of other countries, and attended 152 meetings. also delivered a number of speeches.
Mr Zelensky is a Russian-speaking Ukrainian who was born into a Jewish family in the steel town of Kribyliv. The starting point of his career was acting.
He came to prominence after playing a leading role in the TV drama series “Servant of the People”, which follows the feelings of Ukrainians who were fed up with political corruption.
In this drama, Mr. Zelensky played an honest school teacher. The story is that he became popular on the internet after airing his displeasure with political corruption in a classroom, and as president, he defeats misguided politicians and businessmen.
In 2019, reality imitated the drama. Zelensky was elected president on a campaign promise to end corruption. The campaign included unique messages on social media. It was a sign of his lively online activity under fire.
In a video taken shortly after the Russian invasion began, Zelensky said intelligence reports said the Russian government had declared him a prime target and his wife Olena Zelenska and their two secondary children said he had that.
Anton Hrushetsky, deputy director of the Kyiv Institute of International Sociology, sees Zelensky’s approval rate at 70-80%.
“This level of stability in the approval ratings has never been seen before in the history of Ukraine,” he said.
His main political rivals are largely excluded from decision-making, and some foreign diplomats are quietly worried about the concentration of power in Mr. Zelensky’s team.
A lull in domestic politics allowed Mr Zelensky to launch an all-out crackdown on suspected corrupt government officials. Some of the targets are close to his own power base.
Former president Petro Poroshenko, who lost to Zelensky in the 2019 presidential election, said it would not be appropriate to assess Mr Zelensky’s ability as a wartime leader.
“After February 24, 2022, I will no longer be the leader of the opposition,” Poroshenko told Reuters. , should unite around the country of Ukraine,” he said.
“After our country wins, the people will judge his achievements and mine.”
For now, public support for Zelensky appears solid.
Anton Fedrenko, codenamed “Mazda”, the commander of the troops in eastern Ukraine said:
“The president stayed inside. He didn’t panic and took action immediately. It’s also very important to bring the world’s attention to Ukraine. The issue of the invasion of Ukraine spread to the world.”
(Reporter Tom Balmforth, translation by Erkleen)
