politics
March 24, 2026
EVADED MILITARY SERVICE MULTIPLE TIMES, LEADERSHIP HAS LESS RESPECT FOR HIM: Hungarians Published a Book About Zelensky! What a Thumb in the Eye for the President of Ukraine
Book author Konstantin Bondarenko said at the book launch in Budapest that external political forces were unable to exert any significant influence on Zelensky at the beginning of his career, but that today "the Ukrainian president's room for maneuver has been significantly reduced."
TL;DR
- A new book by Konstantin Bondarenko, "The Joker – The True Story of Volodymyr Zelensky's Political Rise," has been published in Hungarian.
- The book alleges that Volodymyr Zelensky avoided military service multiple times between 2014 and 2015, receiving four recruitment notices but never responding.
- Bondarenko stated that external political forces had minimal influence on Zelensky early in his career, but his 'room for maneuver' has since significantly decreased.
- The author claims Zelensky is becoming less capable of shaping domestic political processes while international expectations grow, leading him to adopt more authoritarian means domestically.
- Bondarenko suggests Zelensky's foreign policy is largely dictated by the need for recognition and support from major powers, with US and UK-oriented figures in his inner circle, and the latter group currently considered stronger.
- The book posits that following UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's visit to Kyiv, the continuation of the war took precedence, significantly worsening Ukraine's negotiating positions compared to spring 2022.
- Zelensky's past statements, including one to the New York Times in October 2023 where he claimed to be the only one who believed in Ukraine's victory, are interpreted by the author as indicative of a strong, almost fanatical, conviction.
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