Feels betrayed by the West: "Becomes a TV soap"

 

Russia's invasion of Ukraine  

Zelenskyy is angry and feels betrayed by the West  

Joachim Kerpner 

Updated 10.51 | Published 10.51 

News 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy feels betrayed by the West, states the American magazine Time.  

The reason: Ukraine is not getting enough weapons to win, just to survive.  

- You give money. We give our lives, says Zelensky.  

Quick version

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy feels betrayed by the West, because the military aid from the West is insufficient to win the war, he says in an interview in Time.
• Zelensky criticizes the US and Europe for war fatigue and compares the war to a TV soap that people have grown tired of watching.
•  At the same time as war morale declines in Ukraine, corruption increases, further complicating the situation.

Journalist Simon Shuster of the American magazine Time has been following Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyj for several weeks.  

When Zelensky returned home empty-handed to Ukraine after his visit to the United States  at the end of September, he was "angry," a person close to the president told Time. The difference was striking from the visit in December 2022, when Ukraine's leader was treated as a hero, flown in a US military plane to the US and received a standing ovation in Congress.  

After the stagnant offensive of recent months with heavy losses in human life, support for Ukraine is starting to falter in many parts of the world:  

- War weariness rolls forward like a wave, in the USA and Europe. When people get a little tired, it becomes like a TV soap for them: "I can't bear to watch this replay for the tenth time," Zelenskyy told Time. 

Zelenskyj: "Freezing the war is the same as losing it" Photo: Anna Tärnhuvud  

At the same time that American politicians are increasing their demands on Ukraine to increase the fight against corruption in the country, President Joe Biden's opportunities to provide financial assistance to the country are decreasing, as public opinion and the Republicans become increasingly hesitant to send more billions .  

A close associate of Zelenskyi tells Time that the Ukrainian president feels betrayed by the West, because the weapons sent are not enough for victory, only for survival. 

Another associate claims that Zelenskyi has almost messianic thoughts that the war must be won on the battlefield. 

- He is deceiving himself. We have no options left. We don't win. But try telling him that, the employee told Time. 

Zelenskyy spoke via link during a NATO meeting in Denmark in October. Photo: Liselotte Sabroe / Ritzau Scanpix  

Zelenskyy himself says that even a temporary truce is out of the question: 

- That would mean that we leave this wound open for future generations. Freezing the war is the same as losing it.  

While war morale is declining in Ukraine - more and more people are paying bribes to avoid military service - corruption is increasing, reports Time. 

- Public employees steal as if there was no tomorrow, says a presidential adviser to the newspaper.  

Corruption is difficult to eradicate. When Zelenskyy fired all the regional heads of Ukraine's enlistment agencies, the recruitment of new soldiers almost stopped, as no one was directing the operation. Now nobody wants the job that the fired people had: 

- It's like putting a sign on your back that says 'corrupt', states an officer. ​