Page 5 - Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Ukrainian President and Unlikely Hero

Indeed, as the attack began, Putin, formerly a member of the
Soviet Union’s secret security and spy organization—the KGB—
immediately launched a major propaganda blitz. Its main goal was
to paint Zelenskyy as incompetent and cowardly. Hoping to create
confusion and dampen the spirit of the Ukrainian people, Putin’s
propaganda operatives tried to promote the idea that Zelenskyy
had ed the capital, Kyiv, leaving the Ukrainian people in the lurch.
This falsehood-ridden rant by Putin and his propaganda net-
work failed miserably, however. Despite his lack of experience in
politics and military matters, Zelenskyy swiftly demonstrated a
level of competency and courage that exposed the Russian nar-
rative as a tattered tissue of lies. Zelenskyy immediately countered
the invaders’ untruths about him by having his own operatives
lm him walking through Kyiv’s main streets. This footage showed
the Ukrainian president calmly strolling along, clearly very much in
charge and seemingly unfazed by the ongoing Russian onslaught.

A Proverbial Backbone of Steel
Zelenskyy also showed that he possesses a mastery of social
media, a talent that Putin notoriously lacks. In a series of well-
timed and well-worded tweets, the Ukrainian leader shrewdly

The damage in Ukraine as a result of Russia’s 2022
invasion has been devastating. Ukraine’s president,
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has quickly shown that he is up to
the task of leading his country against Russia’s attack.