While global attention has shifted to the Middle East, the Ukrainian president continues to visit the trenches, sleep on trains, and keep the hope of an exhausted people alive. But at home, loyalty begins to give way to discontent, and the biggest test of its leadership is only now coming from within.

(Staff: Ukraine / Politics & War)

When Volodymir Zelensky refused the offer to be evacuated by the Western allies, in the first days of the Russian invasion, he seemed almost a film character – a young, determined, clean face and the look of a man who refuses to surrender. At five years of war, that face changed irreversibly. The skin is furrowed with deep wrinkles, the chin has become a permanent mixture of white strands, and the eyes bear the weight of countless lost nights. The features sharpened, the gaze became heavy – a 48-year-old man who looks as if he has lived a lifetime of the last five. .

“I want coffee” – the daily ritual of a pressure president

A close collaborator estimated that Zelenski drinks at least ten cups of coffee a day. When someone offered him water at night, he briefly refused: “I want coffee”. Sleeping is a luxury it can afford an average of five hours a night. His voice hoarse, and the coughing interrupted him more and more often. During a trip to the troops in the east, journalists from the New York Times spoke to him three times: on a park bench, in an underground command post and on the return train to Kiev. Each time, the conversation was interrupted – by sleet, by an air alert, by the need to respond to another crisis. .

the forgotten front of the world

While the world was watching the war in the Middle East, the patriot missiles that should have defended the sky of Ukraine were consumed elsewhere. Zelenski knows that global attention is as precious a resource as ammunition. In Donbas, the front line is less than 16 kilometers from the city of Kramatorsk. There, people still walk their dogs, and shops are open. “It’s not about miles, it’s about people,” he said, looking at the Ukrainian flag flying nearby. .

Greatest test: home

After five years of war, loyalty is no longer unlimited. Former Defense Minister Mikailo Fedorov – a long-standing ally fired in July after only six months in office – called for presidential elections during the war. It is the most direct internal challenge to Zelenski since the beginning of the invasion. Fedorov did not directly appoint the president, but spoke of a “system of government in crisis” and corruption that undermines the war effort. Polls show that 67% of Ukrainians believe that Zelenski should be replaced after the war, and in the event of a possible election, Fedorov would defeat him. .

A Democracy held on standby

The Constitution of Ukraine forbids elections during the martial law, and organizing a voting in the middle of the war is almost logistically impossible. Millions of citizens live in occupied territories or as refugees abroad, and soldiers at the front do not have time to study electoral programs. A hurried attempt would be a gift for Russian propaganda, which already calls Zelensky “illegitimate”. .

Conclusion

Ukraine has lasted five years under Moscow’s blows, but the fragility is now coming from within. Zelenski is no longer the young comedian who inspired a nation in 2022. He is an exhausted president who drinks coffee to stay awake, who travels in the trenches to keep his army united and now confronts what might be the largest His test: the loss of his own people’s trust. In a world that has become accustomed to the war in Ukraine, the real battle for Zelenski is just beginning.