Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is much more than the former comedian he is known as in the Western media — and the man now known to the world as the brave defender of his motherland enjoys massive support from his people, his former spokesperson Luliia Mendel tells Newsmax.
A full 93% of Ukrainians said Zelenskyy's actions since Russia invaded a week ago have been correct, Mendel said Thursday on "Eric Bolling: The Balance," and 80% believe Ukraine will win the war.
Zelenskyy has refused to leave Ukraine, despite at least two offers from the United States to help him to safety, insisting on staying — with his wife and two young children.
His regular TV appearances appealing for help from the West and urging his people to fight have inspired his outgunned military and rallied civilians to join the war effort even as thousands of women and children are fleeing to the borders.
"To be frank, we noticed that there was some simplification of the image of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the media because he was known as a comedian, and this is the most popular public image that he used to have," Mendel said. "But President Zelenskyy also has a legal background, and he is a lawyer who was studying constitutional law. That's why he knows a lot how politics operates."
He also is a very successful self-made businessman, she said. "He built the empire of humor that was popular not only in Ukraine but actually all around the (former) Soviet space."
As early as July 2019, The New York Times mentioned him as a threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin, she noted. Upon his election, Zelenskyy showed that democracy was a threat to Putin, whom Mendel described as a "dictator who has some problems in his head."
Putin has said he plans to reinstall former President Viktor Yanukovych, who acted as a Russian puppet during his presidency, but Mendel told Bolling that Yanukovych, now 71, is the "symbol of corruption" to Ukrainians and they don't want him back. He was thrown out in a revolution in 2014.
"There is not any chance that this person can stay in power even for 24 hours in our country," she said.
As for threats from Putin of public executions to scare Ukrainians into compliance, Mendel said those happened in 2014, and if they happen again, they will have no effect.
"Over 100 Ukrainians sacrificed their lives" in 2014, she said. "Everybody mentions that there are a lot of Ukrainians who fled the country, but we don't mention that there are over 100,000 of Ukrainians who came back to our country just right now because they want to defend Ukraine, and I see that we have a lot of victories, too."
She said she doesn't expect to see concentration camps, as Ukrainians will fight and win, but begged the West for no-fly zones, as Zelenskyy has done time and again.
"The appetites of Putin are huge, and he is not going to help Ukraine," she said.
Speaking directly to the leader of Russia, she said: "Just leave. Leave our country, and build yours. We don't need Russia here. We don't need that. … You're the worst person in the world. No one deserves having such a leader, and no one deserves having such a neighbor as Russia."
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