Intelligence agent and comedian... the two contradictory sides of the Ukraine war

A former Ukrainian comedian who broke into politics in 2019 faces off with a former KGB agent who has been in power in Russia for more than two decades.

Ukrainian Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin were born in the Soviet Union and share the same first name.

But the similarities end there.

The personal confrontation between the two presidents is at the heart of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while their future, whether personal or political, is at stake, as is the future of their two countries.

Zelensky, 44, is hiding in the center of Kyiv in a narrow place in light of the Russian bombing, accompanied by a group of elements responsible for protecting him and his close aides.

As for Putin, 69, he sits in the Kremlin and receives visitors according to very strict rules, while the distance he leaves between him and his closest ministers around huge meeting tables is being ridiculed on social media.

The two presidents met directly only once, when French President Emmanuel Macron hosted them alongside former German Chancellor Angela Merkel during talks in Paris on Ukraine in December 2019.

Since then, Zelensky has become Putin's archenemy, so that the latter does not refer to him by name at all, exactly as he deals with his most prominent opponent at home, Alexei Navalny.

Instead, Putin refers to his counterpart, who is Jewish and was elected in 2019 widely acclaimed by the international community, with labels such as the head of the "Kyiv regime" and the leader of a "gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis."

In an address to the nation late Wednesday, Macron noted the stark difference between the two men, saying that Putin had "chosen war" while Zelensky was "the face of honour, freedom and courage."

'Servant of the People'

As Putin consolidated his grip on Russia in the early 2000s, Zelensky was establishing the production company Kvartal 95 and building his reputation as one of Ukraine's most prominent art icons.

Just over a year after Putin annexed Ukraine's Crimea and backed separatists in the country's east, Zelensky was the star of a soap opera that catapulted him to stardom.

The comedy-drama "Servant of the People" tells the story of Vasyl Holoborodko -- played by Zelensky -- a history professor who became president after a corruption debate spread on the Internet.

In one episode, Holoborodko receives a call from Chancellor Merkel congratulating Ukraine on joining the European Union, prompting him to dance with joy, only to be informed later that she called the wrong number as she intended to call Montenegro.

This week, President Zelensky signed Ukraine's application to join the European Union.

In 2019, when the political scene in his country was turbulent, Zelensky entered politics and won the presidential election by an overwhelming majority, naming his party the "servant of the people."

The Kremlin and Putin reacted lukewarm to his electoral victory, knowing that the Russian president never showed much interest in engaging with Zelensky even after the 2019 Paris summit.

In an address to the nation hours before the Russian invasion, Zelensky said the Kremlin had not responded to a request to speak by phone in what was an indication that war was approaching.

Zelensky's years in power before the war were not without problems, with opponents at home accusing him of inexperience, appointing his former business partners as his top lieutenants, and establishing fortunes abroad.

But he has emerged as a wartime leader, giving daily speeches via video, in an oil shirt and with a light beard, to make sure he has stayed in Kyiv despite the bombing.

- 'Come back' -

While Zelensky took hilarious selfies alongside his defense minister, Putin appeared more and more of an isolated figure, so that his close friend and comrade during the holidays, Sergei Shoigu, sat away from him on the other side of the extended Kremlin table. .

Stuart Patrick of the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations said Putin had succeeded in turning Zelensky into an "international hero".

"Nothing seems to threaten a tyrant more than a functioning (though not perfect) neighboring democracy," he said.

Time magazine published Zelensky's comments made during a speech to the European Parliament this week on the cover page in which he said, "Life will triumph over death - light will triumph over darkness."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Thursday that Putin hopes to "abolish Ukraine" to avoid having "democratic models on his doorstep."

In turn, Zelensky expressed concern that he was the first target of the Russian invasion, but Thursday also called for talks with Putin as the only way to end the conflict.

"If anyone believes ... that Ukraine will surrender, then he knows nothing about Ukraine and has nothing to do with Ukraine," Zelensky said in his last speech, apparently addressed to Putin.

"Go back to your country," he added.

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