“The fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride.” These words, reportedly spoken by Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky in response to the Americans’ offer of evacuation from Kyiv soon after the launch of Russia’s mass invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, laid the foundations for his reputation as a hero.
Over the past 12 months Zelensky’s reputation both at home and abroad has been transformed.
Despite his landslide victory in the 2019, the years after his election were met with widespread disappointment in Ukraine. This was due to his handling of the pandemic and his failure to deliver on campaign promises, especially cracking down on corruption and ending the war in the Donbas.
