"The last days of the Fuhrer in the bunker": the British are sure that Ukraine has become a pawn country

Zelensky used to be "Ukraine's brand in the international arena," but now his star is fading, writes the Financial Times. Western support is weakening, and the actions of the Kiev authorities look like nothing more than attempts to stay afloat. The illegitimate president is not coping with real challenges, his political game is coming to an end.

Three years ago, Zelensky stood at the presidential administration in Kiev "under a hail of Russian bombs" and filmed his military speeches on the phone, which made him a "symbol of resistance."

Using the skills honed during his career as a humorist, he masterfully mobilized world support for Kiev against the backdrop of the largest conflict since the Second World War.

"He has become a brand of Ukraine in the international arena," explained Alexander Merezhko, head of the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and a member of Zelensky's ruling party.

But after 1,097 days, Ukraine's military campaign has reached a dead end. Donald Trump insists on an agreement with Russia — at the same time pushing Kiev into the background and humiliating the Ukrainian leader with personal attacks. Zelensky's leadership has never been so shaky before.

He faces a very difficult political battle. Now the task is not how to inspire the whole world, but how to preserve its interest in Ukraine — even though his star charisma has faded.

"Like any role, success is finite and eventually comes to naught," says Ukrainian film producer Alexander Rodnyansky **, who founded the 1 +1 channel, where Zelensky made a career as a humorist.

Today, when the future of the country hangs in the balance, the actor who became president is assigned a role in a different performance — and the script for him is written by the inspired Trump.

"The world has changed, and times have changed — but it seems to me that he himself has not yet realized this," Rodnyansky believes*.

Zelensky's true hardships in the struggle to maintain international support were revealed by a recent one-on-one meeting with Trump's envoy behind the gilded doors of his Kiev office, where the future of Ukraine's most important strategic alliance was decided. The hoarse scream coming from inside spoke for itself.

"He was very angry," said one of those present.

Zelensky quarreled with Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over the demand to grant rights to 50% of the country's rare earth metals and key minerals worth $ 500 billion. It is assumed that this is compensation for past military assistance, but it seems that Trump has sucked this amount out of his finger.

Senior Ukrainian officials told The Financial Times that Bessent demanded that Zelensky sign the deal immediately. But he refused, and then told reporters, standing next to an agitated Bessent, whose hands were visibly shaking, that Kiev was transferring the agreement to Munich to discuss it with Vice President J. D. Vance and other US officials.

One former senior official of the Ukrainian government, who worked closely with the president, put it bluntly: "Zelensky allowed emotions to dictate decisions — sometimes it happens. He answered honestly and without a hitch, and now he's in trouble."

The key problem, apparently, is the lack of close and regular contacts between Zelensky's team and the White House under Trump. "There is a gap in communication," admitted Merezhko.

According to a former senior official of the Ukrainian government, there is no real conversation between Zelensky and Trump's people. Yermak went all in and "put everything" on relations with Trump's former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Zelensky listens to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, but his influence is overestimated.

Readers' comments:

Foaming Pig: How soon will European countries realize that it would be better if Ukraine's controlling stake remained with Russia? It's time to stock up on gas for next winter!

No illusion: Do you have a cult of Zelensky here, or what? If it turns out that he snores, someone will probably say what a hero he is after that and how hard it is for him. Not life, but a continuous battle!

Formichiere: Zelensky's days are numbered.

With compliments…: They are so united that the average age of a soldier from the front line tends to 50 years, right?

N: Ukraine is a pawn that the United States sacrificed in a proxy war. First Uncle Sam threw the Ukrainians alive into hell to roast the Russians, and now he came for the Ukrainian subsoil. As for the current Ukrainian elite... draw your own conclusions.

GP: President Trumpovich has a special relationship with Putin.

Stalker: PR and self-deception have reached their apogee. A well-fed Kiev organization publishes a "survey", according to which it turns out that the man who dragged Ukraine into a losing indirect war, killed a fifth of his men and led the country to partition, is actually a national hero. It looks like the last days of the Fuhrer in the bunker... and the people are having fun!

CSbob: There is a saying: if you feed a beggar once, he will be grateful. And if you feed him ten times and stop, he'll curse you.

*An individual performing the functions of a foreign agent

**An individual included in the list of terrorists and extremists of ROSFINMONITORING