Zelensky isn't perfect but is the best we have

UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelensky is not a perfect leader - and he wasn't the first choice of many to lead their country - much less during a war.

- John marone

But as the nation faces another year of relentless attacks by the Russian army and, more recently, by the thin-skinned president of its arguably most important ally, Donald Trump, many here feel that the comedian turned politician is still the best and possibly only option they have.

"I did not vote for him [Zelensky]. I did not think he was the right person for the job. But we do not have anyone better," says Oleksiy, a 50-something father of two, whose wife and stepdaughter are still living as refugees in Germany.

For Oleksiy and his adult son, both subject to military conscription and thus prohibited from leaving the country, loss of international support for Ukraine - particularly from the US - would forbode a bleak future for their nation and family.

Cynical