VOLODYMYR Zelensky changed the world order when he chose to stand defiant against “psychopath” Putin, the Ukrainian leader’s former advisor said.
Igor Novikov said it is that strength that is key to Ukraine‘s success in the gruelling battle against Russia’s meatgrinder forces.
GettyWartime leader Volodymyr Zelensky has been hailed a hero for his fight against Putin[/caption]
Igor NovikovZelensky and his former adviser Igor Novikov[/caption]
Igor NovikovIgor said Zelensky is an ‘example of a resilient leader that the world desperately needs’[/caption]
Novikov, who first met Zelensky in 2018, said the “only way” to stop a ruthless Putin is to show no weakness and fight back as the tyrant is a “textbook psychopath”.
He told The Sun: “Strength is the only thing Putin understands. The only way to stop Putin would be to fight back, to push back and to show strength to him.
“Because, in my opinion, he’s a textbook psychopath. Putin does not have empathy, he does not understand anything apart from this duality of strength and weakness.
“So whenever you show kindness or anything else, he can mistake it for weakness.
“He preys on you, he fights on you, he tries to conquer. So the only way to contain him or to beat him would be to use strength.
“There’s no other option.”
Novikov said it’s the strength of Zelensky – who refused to give in when Putin launched his full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022 – that means Ukraine is still standing.
While some leaders would have got a private jet and fled as enemy troops marched towards the nation’s capital – like Bashar Assad did when Syria fell to the rebels – Zelensky stayed.
The then cleanshaven president posted daily updates from Kyiv, urging his countrymen to stay and fight and that they would win as one – and he still does to this day.
Putin’s bungling forces failed to take Kyiv in the three days they had hoped – and three years on, Ukrainian forces are still fighting hard for their homeland.
Novikov said it’s Zelensky’s unwavering resilience that has changed the world order.
He argues if Zelensky had fled to Poland, the world would be watching in horror at Russian troops using Ukraine as a launching pad to strike Nato countries on the alliance’s eastern flank.
Zelenksy’s former advisor said: “The president is an example of a resilient leader that the world desperately needs.
“I don’t think he not only changed the war, but I think he changed global order because imagine a world where he fled to Poland in February 2022.
“We would have been living in a completely different world and God knows what would have happened.
“Maybe Russia would be sizing up Nato or even attacking Nato by now if it weren’t for his decision to stay and for the Ukrainian people’s decision to fight to the very end.
“So I think the Ukrainians and President Zelensky as their collective portrait have changed world history and it’s not an estimation.”
AFPPresident Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky meet in the Oval Office of the White House[/caption]
EPAZelensky’s military has been fighting Putin’s invading forces for more than three years[/caption]
Novikov says Zelensky now bears the scars of years of fierce battles – with every victory unveiling yet more horrors inflicted on Ukrainian civilians by Russian troops.
The former advisor explained how different Zelensky is in 2025 compared with the politician he first met seven years earlier in 2018.
“He got, you know, ten times more experience than he would have under different circumstances as president,” Novikov said.
“So he’s definitely wiser and definitely more scarred because of all the pain and tragedy he had to go through.”
And Russian bombs continue to wreak bloodshed across Ukraine.
One of Putin’s missiles ripped through an apartment building and playground in Zelensky’s hometown and killed 20 people, including nine children last Friday.
More than 70 were wounded in the attack on Kryvyi Rih city.
The children were playing on swings and in a sandbox in a tree-lined part at the time, with bodies strewn across the grass.
What is the naval ceasfire?
RUSSIA and Ukraine agreed to a naval ceasefire in the Black Sea, brokered by the US.
The deal, announced by Washington at the end of March, aimed to reopen a key trade route and includes a commitment to “develop measures” to uphold a ban on attacking each other’s energy infrastructure.
But Russia said the ceasefire wouldn’t kick in until sanctions on its food and fertiliser trade are lifted.
That also included reconnecting key banks to SwiftPay, easing restrictions on Russian-flagged vessels, and lifting curbs on agricultural machinery imports.
The White House said it would “help restore Russia‘s access to the world market for agricultural and fertiliser exports,” though it’s unclear when the agreement comes into force.
President Zelensky welcomed the deal as “the right meetings, the right decisions, the right steps” — but called the US concession a “weakening of positions.”
He later accused Moscow of lying, saying the ceasefire shouldn’t depend on lifting sanctions.
Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said third countries could monitor parts of the agreement and warned that Russian warships straying outside the eastern Black Sea would be seen as “a threat to the national security of Ukraine.”
“In this case Ukraine will have full right to exercise right to self-defence,” he added.
The agreement also revives hopes for safe commercial shipping in the Black Sea — crucial for global grain exports — but with both sides trading accusations of fresh attacks, doubts remain over how long the fragile truce will hold.
The UN Human Rights Office in Ukraine said it was the deadliest single verified strike harming children since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
On the frontlines of Ukraine, Russia’s gains on the battlefield have slowed dramatically in recent months, according to Western intelligence.
But peace seems further away than ever – with Putin dragging his feet on signing any Trump-backed deal on the Ukraine war.
Kyiv agreed on an initial proposal for a full 30-ceasefire earlier this month – but this was quickly rejected by Putin.
Trump has previously said he was “p***ed off” with Putin for his lack of willingness to agree to a ceasefire.
The US President took a rare aim at Putin last weekend after the Russian tyrant called for President Zelensky’s removal in an effort to stall peace talks.
He said: “I was very angry, p***ed off, when Putin started getting into Zelensky’s credibility.”
