Report: Zelenskyy Feels Betrayed by Western Allies

Facts

• Amid signs of fading US and European support for Ukraine following a 20-month war with Russia, a report in TIME magazine this week suggested that Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy feels angered and betrayed by his Western allies.¹
• The publication's reporters followed Zelenskyy from Washington back to Kyiv after the Ukrainian leader visited America in September. Following the trip, in which Zelenskyy sought to convince US lawmakers to give Ukraine additional military aid, he told TIME that dwindling support and the world getting used to the Ukraine conflict was the 'scariest thing.'¹
• However, after returning from the US, a member of Zelenskyy's team described him as 'angry.' Another said that, most of all, Zelensky feels betrayed by his Western allies, who, he feels left him without the means to win the war, only the means to survive it.²
• TIME's reporting also characterized a bleak image of Ukraine's war effort after 20 months of conflict. It reported that despite a Ukrainian counteroffensive launched in June, roughly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory remains under Russian control; it added that the counteroffensive 'has proceeded at an excruciating pace and with enormous losses, making it ever more difficult for Zelenskyy to convince partners that victory is around the corner.'¹
• The article also highlighted a number of corruption scandals that strained Zelenskyy's relationship with Western allies. According to the report, prior to Zelenskyy's arrival in the US, the White House 'prepared a list of anti-corruption reforms for the Ukrainians to undertake.' An aide of the Ukrainian leader told the publication that 'these were not suggestions,' but rather 'conditions.' Despite Zelenskyy's attempts to root out corruption, one Ukraine official admitted: 'People are stealing like there’s no tomorrow.'³
• TIME also detailed Ukraine's personnel shortages after nearly two years of war, describing how military recruiting had dried up and how those killed were now replaced with relatively older conscripts that were less fighting fit. Nonetheless, according to the publication, Zelenskyy remains adamant Ukraine can win. One of his aides said: 'He deludes himself. We’re out of options. We’re not winning. But try telling him that.'¹
• On Wednesday, after Russia launched renewed offensive operations last month, Ukraine's interior ministry said Russia's attacks on Ukraine on the night of Oct. 31 were the most of any day this year. It reported 118 attacks across 10 regions.⁴

Sources: ¹Time, ²Yahoo News, ³FOX News and ⁴Ukrainska Pravda.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Time. After 20 months of war between Ukraine and Russia, Western attention on the conflict is understandably fading, particularly following the eruption of violence between Hamas and Israel in the Middle East. Polls show that fewer and fewer Americans want to maintain funding for a Ukraine conflict whose outcome remains far from clear.
• Pro-Ukraine narrative, as provided by Yahoo News. This article by TIME magazine reflects a subjective opinion on Ukraine after a few days spent in the country. Ukrainians have to live and breathe in the country every moment of every day. Only Ukrainians know what it is to fight Russian aggression every day. This is one of those pieces with unnamed sources being used for political agendas for America to take Ukraine's military funding away.

Predictions