On the eve of total war: the russian syndrome of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s diplomacy (May 2019 – February 2022)

  • Post category:Issue XXIV

Pavlo Hai-Nyzhnyk
Doctor of History, Leading Research Fellow of the Research Institute of Ukrainian Studies, President-academic of the Ukrainian Academy of Geopolitics and Geostrategy, Member of the Expert Council of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine on Overcoming the Consequences of Russification and Totalitarianism

DOI: 10.37837/2707-7683-2023-11

Abstract. The article highlights the military-political situation in Ukraine on the eve of the day russian troops commenced the full-scale invasion into the territory of Ukraine – the beginning of the total war of the russian federation against the state of Ukraine in February 2022. The study covers the political actions and measures taken by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy against the background of the concentration of enemy troops along the borders of Ukraine in the run-up (2019–22) to the outbreak of the full-scale stage of the russian-Ukrainian war and the diplomatic efforts of the leaders of the West (NATO) as they sought to warn Ukrainian Government and political leadership about the imminent full-scale aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine. The author points to the apparent signs and clear-cut facts of vladimir putin’s and russian military-political leadership’s preparations for an outright invasion spanning offensive operations in several directions at the same time (including the direct Kyiv offensive), and the efforts of Western democracies, diplomacy, and intelligence to warn and prepare the
Armed Forces of Ukraine and its political leadership to repel the attack of muscovite invaders. The author also notes that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy was unprepared for the appropriate perception of the then reality, explaining it by the ‘russian syndrome’ of the President’s worldview, short-sighted approach to state security, unreadiness to adopt a strategic vision of military and political threats, political naivety, etc.
Keywords: russian-Ukrainian war, Zelenskyy, putin, Biden, diplomacy.

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