In war-fatigued east Ukraine, Zelensky loses his shine

Olena Semykina, the owner of a village shop in east Ukraine, voted for President Volodymyr Zelensky five and a half years ago, hoping the fresh-faced political newcomer would end the fighting unleashed by Russian proxy forces in 2014.

The screech of an artillery shell over her leafy village in the war-battered Donetsk region and the plumes of dark smoke billowing on the horizon suggested that her hopes for his first term had fallen short.

"We expected the war to end, like he promised. But the war hasn't ended. There's even more fighting. It seems to me that it's become even more intense," the 43-year-old told AFP in the village of Kleban-Byk, where invading Russian forces are fast approaching.

Across the industrial Donetsk region some war-fatigued residents, like Olena who voted for Zelensky in 2019, have lost faith in the 46-year-old leader as Russia's invasion grinds through its third year.

The former comedian won respect internationally and drew comparisons with Winston Churchill when he stayed in Kiev in February 2022 to lead his country in a David-versus-Goliath battle against Russian forces.

But in interviews with AFP, Donetsk residents blamed him for failing to prevent the full-scale invasion in the first place, for daily speeches that felt empty or for being out of touch with Ukrainians living near the front lines.

Donetsk has been partially controlled by Russian proxy forces since they wrested control over swathes of the industrial territory in 2014.

Zelensky swept to victory five years later, promising to end the bitter fighting and stamp out systemic corruption among Soviet-style political elites.

Polling in September 2019, just months after his inauguration, showed the former TV star was riding...