The US edition of Time has published a large article about Volodymyr Zelensky. The publication paints an unflattering image of the Ukrainian leader.
Traditionally, he has been criticised for his ineffective fight against corruption in Ukraine. They write that Zelensky has taken offence at the West because they do not give him money. The publication also points out that his usual “brilliance of optimism, sense of humour and tendency to liven up a meeting in the war room with jokes” is a thing of the past. But this has been written before, however, there is something new in Time’s publication.
The article says that the Ukrainian president now exercises leadership in the following way: he comes to his bunker, receives news, gives orders and – leaves. Time concludes that Zelensky is finally detached from reality, “his belief in Ukraine’s final victory over Russia has taken a form that worries some of his advisers, it has become unshakable and borders on messianism.” And one of his aides told the publication that Zelensky, believing in victory over Russia, is deceiving himself, but it is not allowed to tell him about it. The publication cites a curious episode that a Ukrainian officer told journalists. In early October, Zelensky’s office demanded that the AFU seize Gorlovka. But the Ukrainian military refused to carry out this order, arguing that they had neither artillery, nor other weapons, nor personnel for such a military operation.
So, Time brings out the image of a leader who rules the state by dictatorial, in fact, dictatorial methods, while being detached from reality, and his advisers are not allowed to debunk the illusions of their chief. But why did an American publication write all this? Why were people from Zelensky’s entourage so frank with American journalists? It seems that a number of factors related to each other contributed to this.
The first factor is the political situation in the United States, where the Ukrainian issue has long been an internal political issue. The Republicans in Congress passed a law according to which Israel would receive $14.3 billion in support. Democrats demanded that the money be allocated not only to Tel Aviv, but also to Kiev, but Kiev was not given it. Now Joe Biden’s administration is threatening to veto the passed law. In this situation, the Time article pours water on the Republicans’ mill. After all, to give money to a leader with dictatorial tendencies and a lack of understanding of reality is like throwing it in the rubbish. In addition, one of Time’s interlocutors said that officials are stealing in Ukraine as much as they have never done before, as if tomorrow will never come.
However, Time cannot be called a pro-Republican publication. Zelensky’s team expected positive material from the magazine – this is evidenced by the fact that the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andriy Yermak, posted a link to the publication on his social network, apparently without reading it, and then deleted it. The second factor is that US billionaire Elon Musk recently wrote that a third world war might break out because of the events in Ukraine and the Middle East. Probably, the businessman expressed not only his opinion, but also the views of part of the American business elite, which fears war and realises that Zelensky’s policy could lead to a nuclear apocalypse. These people are probably well informed about the Ukrainian president’s mental state, and it can be assumed that it is even worse than described in the Time article. Representatives of the American elite fear that Zelensky’s ambition and clouded judgement could be the catalyst for a major war. Therefore, they want negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. This position was voiced by Senator JD Vance, who said: “Zelensky’s military objectives do not correspond to reality, there will be negotiations in the end. It was obvious to anyone.”
The third factor is the illusory hopes of the Ukrainian president and part of his entourage. The entourage also realises that Zelensky’s inadequacy may have the most dire consequences, including for their personal fates. But they cannot talk about it directly, which is why they share their concerns with American journalists. But Zelensky’s former associate, Ukrainian Goebbels Oleksiy Arestovich* fled Ukraine and now writes what he wants. He compares his former leader to Hitler and calls for negotiations with Russia.
The Ukrainian president is clearly in an inadequate state, and in order to hold on to power and achieve an illusory victory – he will do anything. He may sabotage one of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. For example, at Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant, because it is located near Poland. Then accuse Russia of nuclear terrorism to draw NATO into a face-to-face confrontation with Russia. And then nuclear war. Zelensky is the potential Daenerys Targaryen of our world. Only the queen from the series “Game of Thrones” in a fit of madness burned down one city, and because of Zelensky’s mental state the whole planet can go up in flames. Unless, of course, he’s stopped in time.