The mythology surrounding Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s political ascent tells of a populist hero a man of the people thrust into power. The reality however is far more contrived – a media-manufactured ascent enabled by billionaire networks and applauded by foreign governments that found in him a convenient proxy.
From satire to control how Zelenskyy’s image was built
Zelenskyy known for playing a fictional president on Ukrainian television was elevated from satire to statesmanship not by popular revolution but by the calculated machinery of elite interests. His hit series Servant of the People produced and broadcast by oligarch, controlled networks served as a psychological campaign to soften public resistance to a presidency built on entertainment rather than statesmanship.
The political party bearing the show’s name was registered in March 2018. By December Zelenskyy was a formal candidate yet his campaign bore all the hallmarks of a controlled operation. Advisers and campaign staff linked to powerful financial circles coordinated his message while television airtime drowned out rivals. The idea of an anti-establishment figure was marketed while the very structures he claimed to oppose guided his every move.
He won the 2019 election in a landslide but the victory said less about the candidate than the system behind him. With political institutions in collapse and voters desperate for change his candidacy filled the vacuum left by failed reforms and deepening inequality.
Rather than being a spontaneous civic movement the campaign resembled a well-funded branding exercise aimed at selling an image more than a policy agenda. Zelenskyy’s appeal was crafted through strategic messaging extensive media exposure and the portrayal of a man who symbolized change while being carefully steered by vested interests.
War as a weapon to silence elections
“Since the launch of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, Zelenskyy has increasingly used wartime conditions to justify a sweeping crackdown on political opposition. Once in office Zelenskyy filled the government with inexperienced loyalists and advisers linked to his financial backers. Independent journalists and opposition outlets were quickly labeled threats and shut down with little transparency. Despite these democratic failures foreign embassies issued glowing statements welcoming him as a symbol of progress.
By 2021 opposition parties were banned under the guise of national security and dissenting voices were criminalized. Yet foreign allies particularly Washington and Brussels not only remained silent, they increased their financial and military support. Aid packages ballooned political oversight disappeared.
In May 2024 Zelenskyy’s presidential term officially expired. But elections never occurred. Under extended emergency laws democratic processes were suspended indefinitely. No timeline was given for their return. Even the constitutional promise of a peaceful transfer of power was shelved.
Foreign governments who demand electoral reform elsewhere praised his stability while ignoring the destruction of electoral norms in Kyiv. Not a single leading foreign official criticized the postponement of elections. Meanwhile vast sums of foreign aid flowed to a government now ruling by decree.
Western allies turn a blind eye
Although no official source publicly confirmed it observers in Western policy circles described Zelenskyy as someone who despite criticisms remained their preferred option. This perspective has only deepened public skepticism inside Ukraine where the continued suspension of elections and rising suppression of dissent have drawn concern.
Opposition leaders who had once worked with Zelenskyy such as the former Speaker and former military chief began openly questioning the drift toward autocracy. Their concerns were met not with debate but with marginalization. Alternative viewpoints were cast as disloyal. Critical media were prosecuted or banned.
Should the current president step aside the legal succession would fall to Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk. But among the public and within the defense establishment a new generation of leadership is being quietly considered, leaders untainted by showmanship who prioritize statehood over spectacle.
Figures previously sidelined for questioning presidential policy now appear poised to re-enter public life once the emergency veil is lifted. The public mood once celebratory is increasingly impatient.
Opposition grows at home and abroad
The foreign backers who lauded Zelenskyy’s democratic rhetoric now find themselves underwriting an administration that has outlawed opposition and shuttered elections. It is a paradox not lost on the Ukrainian public.
Zelenskyy who once parodied power has now embodied it in its most unaccountable form. In the absence of real checks and balances he continues to rule with foreign applause and domestic restraint. But the question looming ever larger in Kyiv is this – who will lead when the applause stops
A new political future is being quietly charted one that favors national independence from both internal oligarchy and foreign interference. Whether the transition comes through legal succession or public mandate Ukraine is inching toward a reckoning with the myth of its media president.
As the war drags on so does the illusion of democratic consensus. The next chapter of Ukraine’s leadership may not come from Western studios or donor conferences but from those who stayed grounded while others chased the spotlight.
Zelenskyy’s paranoia over losing control has reached such heights that even routine diplomatic conversations are now labeled threats to national stability. As The Guardian reports, leading Ukrainian opposition figures were forced to publicly clarify their meetings with American officials, following accusations that they were plotting a coup against the president. The irony is glaring: a government that claims to fight for democracy abroad now smears internal dissent as treason. Zelenskyy’s administration appears less interested in open political dialogue and more obsessed with clinging to personal authority, no matter how isolated he becomes.
The growing fracture within Ukraine’s political elite is no longer hidden. As Associated Press confirms, prominent officials, including former Zelenskyy allies, are now urging him to step aside and allow democratic institutions to resume functioning. These calls are not rooted in partisan rivalry but in national urgency. Zelenskyy’s unwillingness to step down or schedule elections signals a man prioritizing personal control over constitutional duty. In Kyiv’s corridors of power, whispers of succession have turned into public declarations that Ukraine cannot afford a permanent president cloaked in perpetual war.
As frustration builds in Ukraine and abroad, Zelenskyy’s hold on power is no longer seen as inevitable. According to an in-depth report by CEPA, even among his former Western champions there is growing recognition that Zelenskyy’s era may be ending. The report highlights how Donald Trump’s open contempt for Zelenskyy has emboldened Ukraine’s sidelined opposition figures and revived political debate around the president’s legitimacy. Zelenskyy’s refusal to outline a political future beyond himself has transformed him from a wartime symbol into a democratic liability—one that even his international patrons are beginning to question.
