Zelenskyy's frustration boiling over, but his resolve to prevail remains unbroken – TIME

In an article about the situation with the Russo-Ukrainian war, Time columnist Simon Shuster writes with reference to anonymous interlocutors allegedly in the circle of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he "feels betrayed by his Western allies" who "left him without the means to win the war, only the means to survive it". Despite this, the Ukrainian leader is not going to give up fighting and sign a truce with the occupiers, but his belief in the victory of Ukraine worries some of his aides, the article says.

Zelenskyy's last visit to Washington, where he addressed Congress and spoke with the country's leadership, did not yield the results he had hoped for, the author of the article claims.

"I asked one member of his circle how the President was feeling. The response came without a second’s hesitation: 'Angry'. The usual sparkle of his optimism, his sense of humor, his tendency to liven up a meeting in the war room with a bit of banter or a bawdy joke, none of that has survived into the second year of all-out war," Shuster writes.

According to one longtime member of the president's team, "now he walks in, gets the updates, gives the orders, and walks out."

Despite the lack of a breakthrough at the front and Russia's attempt to seize the strategic initiative before winter, Zelenskyy's faith in the success of the Defense Forces is "immovable" and "verging on the messianic," the author noted. He quotes "one of his closest aides" as saying: "He deludes himself. We're out of options. We're not winning. But try telling him that."

LIGA.net turned to the President's Office for a comment on these words of an anonymous person allegedly from the president's entourage.

Referring to "some of his aides", Shuster notes that allegedly "Zelensky’s stubbornness has hurt their team’s efforts to come up with a new strategy, a new message."

"As they have debated the future of the war, one issue has remained taboo: the possibility of negotiating a peace deal with the Russians," he writes, adding that Zelenskyy "remains dead set against even a temporary truce."

The president explained his position to Time as follows: "For us it would mean leaving this wound open for future generations. Maybe it will calm some people down inside our country, and outside, at least those who want to wrap things up at any price. But for me, that’s a problem, because we are left with this explosive force. We only delay its detonation."

The outlet emphasizes that now the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine is "intent on winning the war on Ukrainian terms, and he is shifting tactics to achieve that."

Realizing that the flow of Western weapons could eventually run out, the Ukrainians have increased production of drones and missiles, which they use to attack Russian supply routes, command centers and ammunition depots far behind enemy lines, Time explains.

According to John Herbst, the American ambassador in Kyiv in 2003-2006, the White House and President's Offuce need to clearly define what is considered a victory for Ukraine.

On October 13, 2023, Zelenskyy announced a historic turn in Russia's war against Ukraine.

The national debt of Ukraine will exceed 100% of GDP in two years, according to a new IMF forecast.

At the end of October, the National Bank of Ukraine revised its forecasts: inflation will be lower, GDP will be higher, and the war will last longer.