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Handshake and hug: British Prime Minister Starmer gave Zelensky a warm welcome.
Bild: Peter Nicholls/Pool Getty/AP/dpa
Volodymyr Zelensky was warmly greeted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London. After the scandal in the USA, he was suddenly a guest of friends again.
Volodymyr Selensky sat in a white, cozy armchair in front of the fireplace and smiled. "Thank you very much, Keir," said the Ukrainian president to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and it seemed as if he wanted to hug his host again, as he had done on his arrival at 10 Downing Street. Less than 24 hours after the unprecedented rift with US President Donald Trump in the White House, Zelensky was suddenly back among friends.
The contrast that the Ukrainian experienced could hardly have been greater. A reception with the British King Charles III was planned for Sunday. Starmer had already reassured him of his unwavering support, sealed by another contract for a billion-euro loan for defense against Russia's attack. On Friday, Selenskyj was bombarded with accusations by Trump. One was that he was risking a third world war.
At the welcome with Starmer in front of the famous black door in the heart of London, cheers could be heard for Ukraine. Selensky wore his dark sweater again. He stuck to the style he has been wearing since the Russian attack three years ago, traveling around the world and asking for support.
He was greeted by Trump on Friday on the doorstep of the White House with the words: "You're all dressed up today." Selenskyj had dressed up quite nicely. That was not a compliment. Selenskyj's chancellery chief Andrij Jermak appeared for Trump in a suit for the first time in a long time.
The question from a Trump-affiliated reporter in the Oval Office afterwards as to whether Zelenskyi had no suit went around the world in short internet clips at the weekend. Selensky's answer initially seemed confident. When the war was over, he would wear a suit again, perhaps a more expensive one than the journalist, perhaps a cheaper one. Then came the unprecedented rebuke from Trump and his vice J.D. Vance in their sacred presidential chamber.
In Ukraine, the rift was accompanied above all by fears that US aid could completely collapse and pave the way for a Russian victory. Zelensky wants to prevent this at all costs.
His popularity ratings were very high after the 2019 election, but fell dramatically after his first few years in office. It was not until the start of the war, when - contrary to what many expected - he did not flee with his wife Oleana and their two children, but instead declared war on Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, that his approval ratings reached new highs.
The 47-year-old Selenskyj, a former actor and comedian who has spoken Russian, his mother tongue, for most of his life, repeatedly refers to his strong support among the population. An opinion research institute with close ties to the president stated in February, with reference to surveys, that Zelenskyi enjoys the trust of over half of Ukrainians. In contrast, the Socis Institute, which is close to his opponent and predecessor Petro Poroshenko, found that just over 16 percent of Ukrainians would continue to vote for Zelensky - less than former army chief Valery Salushnyi, who received 27.2 percent.
Critics see the country on the wrong path, with some even accusing Zelensky of authoritarian tendencies. Some are in prison, others have fled abroad and still others remain publicly silent. In the course of the current martial law, he brought the majority of the media into line with him.
The president refuses to resign - as demanded in the USA, for example. He emphasizes that only the Ukrainian people can decide on this. And they are firmly on his side.
02.03.2025, 23:15
