Inside President Volodymyr Zelensky’s effort to keep Ukraine in the fight
In an interview with TIME magazine, Zelensky has emphasized, "Nobody believes in our victory like I do. Nobody." Instilling that belief in his allies, he stated, "takes all your power, your energy. You understand? It takes so much of everything."
The situation is only growing more challenging. After twenty months of conflict, roughly one-fifth of Ukraine's land remains under Russian control. The war has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians, and as President Zelensky travels, he senses a waning global interest in the conflict. International support has also dwindled. He voices his concerns, saying, “The scariest thing is that part of the world got used to the war in Ukraine, Exhaustion with the war rolls along like a wave. You see it in the United States, in Europe. And we see that as soon as they start to get a little tired, it becomes like a show to them: ‘I can’t watch this rerun for the 10th time.’”
Public support for providing aid to Ukraine has been steadily decreasing in the United States for months, and President Zelensky's visit did not help to reverse this trend. A Reuters survey conducted shortly after Zelensky's departure revealed that only 41% of Americans now wish for Congress to supply more weaponry to Kyiv, a significant drop from the 65% who held this view back in June when Ukraine initiated a major counteroffensive. Unfortunately, this offensive has progressed slowly and incurred significant casualties, making it increasingly challenging for Zelensky to persuade allies that victory is imminent. Additionally, the outbreak of conflict in Israel has diverted global attention, compounding the difficulties of keeping Ukraine in the spotlight.
Following his visit to Washington, TIME accompanied President Zelensky and his team back to Kyiv, seeking insight into their response to the signals they had received. These signals included persistent calls for Zelensky to combat corruption within his own government
Zelensky's usual optimism, humor, and his habit of injecting some levity into war room meetings with banter or jokes have all faded as the second year of all-out war unfolds. As one longtime team member puts it, “Now he walks in, gets the updates, gives the orders, and walks out,” Another source shares that Zelensky primarily feels let down by his Western allies. They have provided him with the means to survive the war but not the means to secure victory, which he perceives as a betrayal.
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