San Francisco Frontiers - Volodymyr Zelensky: Under-pressure wartime leader used to defying the odds

Instead, the comedian-turned-leader became the face of his country's -- and Europe's -- resistance, repeatedly defying the odds in the face of relentless Russian attacks that have killed tens of thousands of his citizens.

Now Zelensky faces what he has called "one of the most difficult moments of our history", with Russia advancing at its fastest pace in a year and a domestic corruption scandal that has forced him to sack his powerful top aide.

And US President Donald Trump is pushing a peace plan that many in Kyiv see as quasi-capitulation, while also backing Russia's call for new presidential elections in Ukraine.

Despite polls being suspended under martial law, Zelensky said he would hold a vote if the United States and Europe guaranteed security.

"I am ready for the elections," the 47-year-old said.

- 'Informal' -

The charismatic leader has a track record of coming out on top when the chips are down.

When Russian troops marched on Kyiv in February 2022, Zelensky -- Ukraine's youngest-ever president -- refused a US evacuation offer, staying in the capital to lead the fight.

"We are not putting down arms," he said in an iconic address to Ukrainians, delivered in the darkness outside the presidential compound.

As Moscow seized town after town, rained missiles on cities and forced millions to flee, Zelensky kept up morale with daily video addresses to the nation.

Touring allies relentlessly, he convinced the West to arm Ukraine.

His resistance infuriated his nemesis Vladimir Putin, an ex-KGB agent in power for 25 years who bet he could easily outmanoeuvre the political novice.

In contrast to the Russian leader, Zelensky regularly visits soldiers on the front line, as well as ordinary people, children, families and victims of Russian strikes.

Being with people is what energises him, one senior official in Kyiv told AFP.

"I don't think the office-based part is his thing," they said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

His "informal", man-of-the-people style has been credited with instilling confidence and admiration at home and among allies.

- 'Tougher' -

According to his wife Olena Zelenska, the scale of the February 2022 invasion was a shock to her husband, who thought Russia would at most occupy an eastern pocket of Ukraine.

The discovery weeks later that Russian forces had killed dozens of civilians in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha was a turning point.

Walking on a street that had been strewn with bodies was one of the few times Zelensky appeared visibly shaken.

"It's very difficult to talk," he said, his voice quivering. "These are war crimes."

Before winning office, Zelensky had pledged to end the conflict with Russian-backed separatists in the east.

"We just need to stop shooting," he had told journalists, speaking in Russian.

Now he openly admits to hating Putin, whom he has branded a "dictator" and "murderer".

"He became much tougher," said one person in Zelensky's entourage who knew him long before politics.

Once near-universally admired, that steeliness has grated on Trump over the last year, most notably in their infamous Oval Office clash.

- 'Strategy' -

Zelensky won a 2019 presidential vote by a landslide but made little progress on campaign pledges in his first years in office.

Russia's invasion put internal politics -- traditionally feisty and volatile -- on hold.

But tensions have risen as the conflict has dragged on.

He has faced criticism for sidelining opponents -- like removing popular ex-army chief Valery Zaluzhny -- and accusations he and now-dismissed chief aide Andriy Yermak centralised too much power.

A former top security official told AFP that "the word 'strategy' is an obscenity" inside Zelensky's administration, with "no planning beyond tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow".

From his team he demands both creativity and speed, others said.

"He's someone who, when given two options, one and two, tries to find a third, original one," the current official said.

"That is definitely his strong suit, which probably lets him, you could say, turn the chessboard around."

"He'll ask 10 times, 'Why can't we speed up here? Why can't we push this through faster?'"

Polls suggest a majority of Ukrainians retain confidence in Zelensky -- around 60 percent said in October they trusted him.

But this is down from sky-high approval at the start of the war.

As for a possible election, a November survey had him top, on 20.3 percent. Zaluzhny was close behind on 19.1 percent.

- 'Beg on my knees' -

A father of two and from a Russian-speaking family of Jewish descent, Zelensky owed much of his early career success to the Russian show-business industry.

A comedy competition that sent winners to Moscow was a ticket out of industrial Kryvyi Rig, his gangster-ridden hometown.

In 2013, he co-presented Russian state TV's New Year's Eve show, entertaining figures that a decade later shouted diatribes about him on pro-war propaganda shows.

On Ukrainian TV, he played a fictional president, leveraging the role in his real run for office.

After Moscow annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and started backing pro-Russian separatists in the east, comedian Zelensky turned to the camera in one show to address Putin directly.

"If you need it, I will even beg on my knees, but do not put our country on its knees."

J.Peterson--SFF