While sharp public statements have always been part of Zelenskyy’s political brand, the Ukrainian leader’s growing public anger with the peace process is palpable, Kyiv-based political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said.
“His temperament calls for faster solutions. That’s where impatience and irritation come from,” Fesenko said.
Addressing the nation on the eve of the anniversary, Zelenskyy urged President Donald Trump to visit Ukraine and said any peace talks must not “nullify” years of sacrifice by his people. “Putin has not achieved his goals,” Zelenskyy added. “He has not broken Ukrainians.”
The Kremlin concurred, in a way.
The goals of Putin’s invasion have not been fully achieved, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday, so the special military operation, as the Kremlin calls its war, will continue.
After four grueling years, Russia controls 20% of Ukrainian territory, chipping away at its eastern frontiers in a war of attrition that has now lasted longer than the Soviet Union’s fight against Nazi Germany.
Despite Ukraine’s recent gains, neither side has launched a major offensive in months. And the battlefield toll on both sides is approaching nearly half a million dead and 1.5 million wounded or missing, according to a staggering estimate released last month.
