Name? Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Westphalian identity? Ukrainian
Age? 48
Why is he in the news? When has Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy not been in the news in the past four years? This week, however, has been special. First, Zelenskyy was surprised by U.S. President Donald Trump when he announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy ceasefire following Trump’s decision to import diesel from Russia to curb prices ahead of the US midterms, only for the agreement to break shortly after when Russian strikes left parts of Kyiv without power. Zelenskyy criticised the diesel deal as “not fair and not honest”. Trump’s response was that “it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president”.
Why do we care? Zelenskyy has been on Trump’s bad side since their infamous White House meeting in February when Zelenskyy was berated by Trump and his Vice President J.D. Vance. Since then, Zelenskyy has received more personal attacks from Trump than support.
Why should you care? The Russia-Ukraine War impacts global energy flows and supplies, and therefore also your life.
Who else cares? Tech-Billionaire (or Trillionaire, depending on the mood of the stock markets) Elon Musk got involved this week when Zelenskyy stated that the Starshield satellite system, produced by SpaceX but controlled by the US government, had slowed down significantly without explanation. Musk’s importance became evident in February, when he cut off the civilian Starlink to Russian troops in Ukraine, giving Ukraine a battlefield advantage.
Any further comments? Holding elections in Ukraine is simply impossible at the moment. Russia currently controls 19% of Ukraine’s territory, 3.7 million Ukrainians are internally displaced and 5.9 million are refugees. These three factors alone make free and fair elections impossible while the war continues. On top of that, Article 19 of the Law of Ukraine “On the legal regime of martial law” bans elections under martial law, which parliament has extended 20 consecutive times, now until 31 October 2026.
