Who is Ukraine’s president? And can he handle this crisis?
LA TimesAs Russia moves ahead with its invasion of Ukraine, world leaders and the public have turned to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for on-the-ground information and signals of what may happen next. Though the specifics of his plans were unclear, the former comedian handily defeated President Petro Poroshenko, who made his fortune in the candy business as Ukraine’s so-called “chocolate king.” How do the Ukrainians feel about him? Despite his landslide victory and a year and a half of relative popularity, the faith of the Ukrainian people in their president largely disappeared after Russia’s first troop buildup began last spring. “Since the beginning of the current tensions last year, Zelensky lost the public’s trust,” Maria Zolkina, a political analyst with the Democratic Initiatives Foundation, a Kyiv-based think tank, told The Times. As Zelensky deals with attacks on his home soil, President Biden on Thursday said he was imposing severe sanctions on Russia for its “premeditated attack” on Ukraine.