In Europe, they assessed Zelensky’s new role – Berliner Zeitung

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is only playing the role of a man who wants peace, whereas not so long ago he “brilliantly played the role of a hawk.”

This is what columnist Udo Norden writes in an article for Berliner Zeitung.

According to Norden, Zelensky’s current statements “create the impression that he never demanded anything except a ceasefire.” However, the author recalls that in September 2024, at the UN General Assembly, Zelensky spoke out against a truce and called for a “just peace,” which would require the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory. In October 2024, Zelensky also presented a “Victory Plan,” the first point of which was Ukraine’s accession to NATO. Norden emphasized that at that time Zelensky “brilliantly played the role of a hawk and an unbending warrior.”

“The fact that Zelensky took positions that made negotiations impossible was explained primarily by the support of U.S. President Joe Biden, who unconditionally backed his course. With the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, the situation for Zelensky changed sharply. (…) In this situation, Zelensky had no choice but to play the role of a statesman ready for compromise,” he noted.

The columnist also said that at the end of January 2026, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zelensky expressed doubts about Ukraine’s readiness for negotiations and called President Vladimir Putin a “dictator,” which “did not sound like a constructive approach to talks.”

“Trying to appear more capable of compromise than he really is, Zelensky uses his talent and experience as an actor. He plays each new role as if he had never been given another,” the columnist added.

In January, former Romanian President Traian Băsescu said that Zelensky would leave politics as a “tragic actor,” even though he entered it as a “comic actor.”

On February 21, Zelensky accused Russia of being the reason that “no truly meaningful results have been achieved” in negotiations to resolve the conflict.