Name: Zelensky: TIME may be on his side, but real time, isn't
Brand: responsiblestatecraft.org
SKU: responsiblestatecraft-org-3
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Zelensky: TIME may be on his side, but real time, isn't

preview

Since the Russia-Ukraine war began over 20 months ago, Western media has constructed and dutifully hewn to a series of narratives: Volodymyr Zelensky is a war hero and resistance leader akin to Winston Churchill. Ukrainians are eager to volunteer for the war effort while Russians flee conscription. More money and weapons are all the Ukrainians need to retake the territory Russia has annexed. The West’s interests lie in helping them achieve that grand victory rather than in pushing for a ceasefire and negotiated settlement. Facts at odds with these narratives — such as that Ukraine has been taking unsustainable losses in combat, that we don’t have enough artillery shells to adequately supply them, that the billions we’ve been sending to Ukraine are falling prey to corruption — have been dismissed as “Putin talking points.” The critics who point them out are attacked as Kremlin apologists.All of which is why it was so extraordinary to read this week’s cover story in TIME magazine. Written by Simon Shuster, who previously wrote the article naming Zelensky TIME's“Person of the Year” at the end of 2022, the piece is ostensibly another hagiography of Zelensky as the heroic figure forced to go it alone as times get tough and Western allies start to “abandon” him. But rather than shoring up Zelensky’s standing in the West, it validates many of the criticisms made by those supposed Putin apologists. Only now those criticisms are being voiced by Zelensky’s own aides and advisers inside the presidential palace.The narrative dam our media has built around the reality in Ukraine is apparently breaking wide open, and the truth is finally spilling out: “Nobody believes in our victory like I do,” Zelensky told TIMEin what became the pull quote for this cover story. He may have to read Shuster’s piece to see just how right he is, as he seems surrounded by aides who no longer believe in Ukraine’s war strategy or Zelensky’s leadership of it. Zelensky no doubt intended the quote as a Churchillian “never surrender” exhortation to courage and resolve in the face of Ukraine’s “darkest hour” rather than as an admission of delusional optimism. Yet his dogmatic insistence on total victory and refusal to consider peace negotiations belie a loss of touch with reality that ought to worry both his countrymen and allies. To be sure, Zelensky is not alone in his refusal to face reality. The Biden administration has proposed another $61 billion for Ukraine’s war effort without explaining how this will produce a different result than the $100+ billion already appropriated. Undoubtedly Zelensky’s optimism was fueled by Biden’s repeated promises of total support for "as long as it takes." But it’s becoming increasingly clear that the U.S. is in no position to deliver on that promise indefinitely. It has too many other global commitments, including to Israel, which compete for limited resources. Alone among his team, Zelensky seems not to understand how circumstances have changed. Shuster and TIME try their best to portray him as the last stalwart of the Ukrainian cause, but the fact that his own inner circle is the source of the torrent of revelations and complaints suggests that his immovability owes not to Churchillian resolve but rather to an impervious bunker mentality.From Your Site ArticlesRelated Articles Around the Web Analysis |EuropeAzerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Photo: Drop of Light via shutterstock.comAzerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Photo: Drop of Light via shutterstock.comEurope(U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Andy Dunaway/Released)QiOSKDiplomacy Watch: A peace summit without RussiaQiOSKMiddle EastMiddle EastWashington PoliticsMiddle EastWashington PoliticsEuropeMiddle EastQiOSKWashington PoliticsMiddle EastWashington PoliticsMilitary Industrial ComplexAbout UsPrivacy PolicyPitchRS@quincyinst.org©2023 Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Inc. All Rights Reserved.©2023 Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Since the Russia-Ukraine war began over 20 months ago, Western media has constructed and dutifully hewn to a series of narratives: Volodymyr Zelensky is a war hero and resistance leader akin to Winston Churchill. Ukrainians are eager to volunteer for the war effort while Russians flee conscription. More money and weapons are all the Ukrainians need to retake the territory Russia has annexed. The West’s interests lie in helping them achieve that grand victory rather than in pushing for a ceasefire and negotiated settlement. Facts at odds with these narratives — such as that Ukraine has been...

public

Founder who backs founders through @craft_ventures. Previously: Created two unicorns, invested in over 20 more. Occasional movie producer. @theallinpod

David Sacks

Online magazine of the  @Quincyinst  promoting diplomacy and military restraint. Send tips, pitches, and ideas to PitchRS@ http://quincyinst.org

Zelensky: TIME may be on his side, but real time, isn't

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS