President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s statements in an interview with The Washington Post journalists caused a heated debate in Ukraine regarding their decisions.

Olha Tokaryuk, a Ukrainian journalist and researcher at the Center for European Policy Analysis, says that most of the criticism of Zelensky is related to his decision to assure Ukrainians until the last minute that Russia would not invade.

“People wonder if more education would save lives. Although it is clear that the economic consequences of a panic would be huge, Zelensky’s communication before the war raises questions,” she writes on her Twitter page.

Tokaryuk also says that more and more Ukrainians are wondering why they were told in mid-January that they could go to barbecues in May, when the leadership in Kyiv needed to know more about the Russians’ plans.

Criticism of the Ukrainian president

Other criticisms of the President of Ukraine concern the fact that territorial defense units were not formed sooner before the February 24 invasion, why the defense budget was not increased, and why infrastructure and hospitals were not prepared.

“Some people ask why evacuation was not recommended, but that’s the problem: where and how do you evacuate millions of people?” she added.

Tokaryuk says that no one would want to be in the position of the Ukrainian president, and he could not know which decision would be right and which would be wrong.

“History will judge him, and it is too early to draw conclusions. But what can be said with certainty is that the period when 90% of Ukrainians supported Zelensky after the Russian invasion is coming to an end. People start asking questions and expressing criticism. In general, Ukraine is a democratic state. And this does not mean that she is not the only one,” emphasizes Olga Tokaryuk.

The American delegation visits Kyiv (PHOTO: US State Department / Alamy / Profimedia Images)

What Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with American journalists

When asked what he would say to Ukrainians who now say that if they had known, they could have fled or prepared ahead of time, the Ukrainian president said that from December to February, “Ukrainians took money out of our economy. We could be strict about it, but we didn’t allow the National Bank or anyone else to limit people’s ability to take their money.”

“They had access to all available information,” Zelenskyy said.

At the end of January, the Ukrainian president said that the main risk for Ukraine is not a Russian invasion, but “destabilization from within”, while asking Western countries not to create panic with statements about the inevitability of a Russian invasion. attack.

“We don’t need this panic,” because “we have to stabilize the economy” of the country, Zelensky emphasized at a press conference before foreign media.

Zelensky’s remarks to The Post reporters this week came as the paper published an extensive investigation into the months leading up to the Russian invasion, showing that President Joe Biden was briefed on Russia’s plans as early as October and that senior US officials tried to alert leaders in Kyiv.

Vitaliy Klitschko (Photo: Pavlo Bakhmut/Ukrinform/NurPhoto / Shutterstock / Profimedia)

Are Ukrainian officials breaking the common front?

Recently, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has become the object of more or less sophisticated attacks by well-known officials from Kyiv.

This week, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital Vitaliy Klitschko told reporters that he had been informed in advance that the Russian invasion would most likely take place on February 24, sources in the Ukrainian military and intelligence services, as well as “information from the West.” partners and countries that support Ukraine”.

Klitschko also noted that he constantly raised this issue and held meetings “that not everyone liked.”

He also reported that in the office of the President of Ukraine, he was threatened with punishment for signing an open letter demanding to restore the citizenship of an official whose citizenship was revoked by Zelenskyi by presidential decree.

In early August, the former commander of the Ukrainian special forces, General Serhii Kryvonos, said for his part that officials in Kyiv had a lot of information about the inevitability of the Russian invasion, but did not take action.

“The military clearly knew that there would be a Russian attack plus or minus two or three days, depending on the specific time [ale invaziei]. But exactly 72 hours before the start of the war, there was 100% certainty that there would be a war,” he said.

“Why didn’t they react to all the warnings not only from their partners in the West? Western partners have been warning us since the fall of 2021. And, in principle, everyone agreed 100% on how the offensive would take place and what goals the Russian troops would be interested in,” the Ukrainian officer claims.

Kryvonos also reported that in January American officials of “extremely high level” came to Kyiv and “showed us on maps what and how it will happen.” But the political leadership said that these are lies, bluffs and provocations. Why? Because pro-Russian agents are probably in the president’s office.”

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