Posted for future reference. Might come in handy in the weeks (?months) ahead. Via The New York Times, where there are other relevant maps.
Addendum: Excerpts from an op-ed entitled The Comedian-Turned-President is Seriously in Over His Head -
When Mr. Zelensky took power in Ukraine in 2019, converting his TV fame into a stellar political career, no one knew what to expect. His opponents said he was so inexperienced, he was bound to be a disaster. His supporters thought that he would break away from the old ways and end corruption. His harshest critics claimed that Mr. Zelensky, a Russian-speaking man born in eastern Ukraine, would all but sell the country off to Russia. Others said he was an oligarch puppet.Yet the truth is more prosaic. Mr. Zelensky, the showman and performer, has been unmasked by reality. And it has revealed him to be dispiritingly mediocre...Mr. Zelensky’s other major project, a campaign he calls “deoligarchization” that’s aimed at capping the influence of the very wealthy, looks more like a P.R. move than serious policy. Despite his campaign promises, no progress has been made in fighting corruption. According to Transparency International, Ukraine remains the third-most-corrupt country in Europe, after Russia and Azerbaijan. Anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies are either stalling or run by loyalists appointed by the president...Scandals and tolerance for corruption have chipped away at Mr. Zelensky’s popularity. Sixty-two percent of Ukrainians don’t want him to run for re-election, and if an election were held today, he’d garner about 25 percent of the vote — down from the 30 percent he easily won in the first round of the 2019 election. He’d still be likely to win, but the historic 73 percent he scored in the second round feels like a distant memory.Mr. Zelensky, stung by the fallout, came to largely rely on the loyal rather than the qualified. A former movie producer and longtime friend was made chief of staff, joining other friends and confidants of Mr. Zelensky in wielding outsize power. The security service is overseen by a childhood friend, a former corporate lawyer, and the president’s party in Parliament is run by a loyal former I.T. businessman. The circle around the president has become an echo chamber.In the process, Mr. Zelensky has turned into a version of the politician he campaigned against: insular, closed off, surrounded by yes men. In normal circumstances, that would be bad enough. But now, when Ukraine is menaced by Russia, it may be affecting Mr. Zelensky’s judgment.
The description sounds hauntingly like a recent U.S. presidential administration. More at the link. I would welcome informed commentary from TYWKIWDBI readers in Ukraine.
Let's be fair, most people would be in over their heads with Putin.
ReplyDeleteAFAIK Zelinsky was elected in the post 2008 economic crisis voters revolt against the sitting political class that also brought us Brexit, the 5 star movement in Italy, Bolsonaro and TFG.
IMHO the sitting politicians did not handle the 2008 economic crisis well. So much so that voters were vengefully willing to vote against their own interest to hurt the political class. That worked. Sadly, voters didn't gain much with their protest votes.
Дякуємо за вашу підтримку України!
ReplyDelete"Thank you for your support of Ukraine!"
DeleteImagine the US disintegrates. DC is still the capital of 25 states remaining the Union. But West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York compose one of several a new republics. China begins to mentor and invest in this new country, Westpennyork--and China sends a few billion in arms to this new country. And the goal is to get missiles in place, 300 miles from the White House.
ReplyDeleteThis is hell on earth
ReplyDelete