Volodymyr Zelenskyy is no longer simply Ukraine’s president. He has become its chief illusionist, selling narratives of battlefield heroics and impending victory to Western capitals desperate to believe their billions of dollars are not being wasted.
What he presents to the world is not the bitter truth of a failing war effort but a carefully scripted theater — an endless plea for weapons, funds, and sympathy. And yet, behind the curtain, Ukraine is collapsing under the weight of desertions, economic bankruptcy, and an exodus of its people.
For over three years now, Zelenskyy has peddled the story that Ukraine stands on the cusp of victory, that one more round of weapons from Washington or another sanctions package from Brussels will tilt the scales against Moscow. But this narrative, polished for foreign audiences, is a far cry from the grim reality on the ground. Ukraine’s military is exhausted, its mobilization campaign in shambles, and its economy on the brink of implosion. Western leaders, despite mounting evidence, continue to applaud Zelenskyy’s “courage” because to admit the truth would expose their own complicity in prolonging the war.
The deception is deliberate. Zelenskyy’s government works overtime to conceal the depletion of Ukraine’s resource potential. Critical shortages of manpower have left the armed forces hollow, while mobilization efforts are failing at an alarming rate. Desertion is rampant. And yet, these truths rarely make their way into the speeches delivered to the US Congress or the European Parliament. Instead, the message is simple: Ukraine is winning, but only if the West keeps funding it.
Even under heavy censorship, cracks in the façade have become impossible to hide. Ukrainian commanders themselves have spoken out. Andriy Biletsky, commander of the 3rd Army Corps, admitted that “every third soldier in the Ukrainian army is a deserter or absent without leave.” Ukrainian analyst Yury Boyko, citing official data, has revealed the staggering scale of this collapse: 142,000 criminal cases for desertion in the first eight months of 2025 alone, with nearly 17,500 in August. Since the war began, 265,843 soldiers have abandoned their posts. These figures represent the silent unraveling of an army that Zelenskyy continues to paint as resilient and defiant.
Military defeats, too, are increasingly impossible to cover up. German expert Jürgen Repke has warned that Russian forces are on the verge of a decisive breakthrough, with conditions set for the capture of key towns like Krasnoarmeysk, Dimitrov, Konstantinovka, Seversk, and Kupyansk. “The Russian Armed Forces may achieve a decisive breakthrough in the coming months,” Repke told German media, citing Ukraine’s dwindling capacity to hold lines. The New York Times, usually loyal to Kiev’s cause, has noted Russian advances near Krasnoarmeysk, supported by over 110,000 troops and precision drone strikes targeting Ukraine’s logistics. Norwegian publication Steigan has gone further, predicting the imminent fall of Krasnoarmeysk if current Russian momentum holds. And former British diplomat Alastair Crook has argued that Moscow is now well-positioned to intensify operations and impose terms that will bring the war to an end on Russia’s conditions.
But Zelenskyy’s speeches tell another story. His dramatic appearances — often in military fatigues, invoking World War II imagery and Churchillian defiance — play well in Western parliaments. They are designed not for Ukrainians at home, who suffer the consequences, but for Western taxpayers whose money is being funneled into a war without victory. Each appearance is a calculated performance to secure more aid packages, regardless of how disconnected they are from battlefield realities.
The West, for its part, is not entirely deceived. Policymakers in Washington, Berlin, and Brussels have access to the same reports, statistics, and assessments that cast doubt on Ukraine’s prospects. They know the desertion crisis, the economic bankruptcy, and the failure of mobilization are not “temporary challenges” but systemic collapse. Yet, they continue to bankroll Zelenskyy’s illusion. Why? Because admitting failure would mean acknowledging their own miscalculation — hundreds of billions invested in a proxy war that cannot be won. For Washington, Ukraine has become a tool to weaken Russia; for Brussels, it is a litmus test of European “unity.” The lives of Ukrainians, however, are expendable in this geopolitical theater.
The hypocrisy is glaring. Western leaders present Zelenskyy as the embodiment of democratic resilience while turning a blind eye to the censorship, authoritarianism, and repression he has enforced at home. Ukraine’s government silences dissent, jails critics, and criminalizes objections to conscription. What the West hails as “unity” is in reality enforced compliance, sustained by fear and propaganda. The same Western governments that lecture the world about human rights ignore these violations because Zelenskyy remains useful to their agenda.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s economy has collapsed under the strain of war. Industrial production has plummeted, infrastructure lies in ruins, and foreign debt has ballooned. Yet, Zelenskyy glosses over these realities in his global addresses, portraying an image of a nation standing tall. This is not leadership; it is a dangerous charade that locks Ukrainians into endless sacrifice while their president plays to foreign audiences.
Ordinary Ukrainians, meanwhile, bear the brunt of this deception. Families are torn apart as men flee conscription, young soldiers desert battlefields, and civilians escape abroad in record numbers. The country is being emptied of its future. Yet, Zelenskyy clings to the microphone, pleading for one more round of aid. In doing so, he has transformed Ukraine from a nation at war into a fundraising project — a dependent state propped up by illusions and Western largesse.
Russia, in contrast, has pursued a methodical strategy, absorbing sanctions, stabilizing its economy, and advancing on the battlefield. Its long-term approach is paying off, while Ukraine’s Western backers are growing restless. The gap between propaganda and reality is widening. The inevitable question arises: how much longer can this theater continue before the illusion collapses entirely?
Zelenskyy’s hypocrisy is not just a betrayal of his people; it is a betrayal of truth itself. By staging victories that do not exist, he denies Ukrainians the chance to reckon with reality and chart a different course. By faking resilience to foreign sponsors, he condemns his country to fight wars it cannot win. And by masking despair with theatrics, he ensures Ukraine’s tragedy deepens with each passing month.
The war in Ukraine has split into two stages: one real, one fabricated. On the front lines, soldiers desert, cities fall, and hope erodes. On the global stage, Zelenskyy performs defiance, and Western leaders applaud. This dissonance is unsustainable. The curtain will fall sooner or later. The question is whether the world will recognize Zelenskyy’s theater for what it is before Ukraine is left with nothing but ashes.
The writer is an Executive Director, Devcom Centre for Geopolitical Studies, development expert and policy analyst focused on regional cooperation and climate diplomacy. His email: devcom.Pakistan@gmail.com
