Volodymyr Zelenskiy declared his personal income for the first time since the outbreak of war with Russia, as part of his effort to increase transparency in his government.
In 2021, the year before Russia invaded Ukraine, Zelenskiy and his family reported income of 10.8 million hryvnia ($285,000), down 12 million hryvnia from the previous year, even as his income was boosted by the sale of $142,000 of government bonds, according to a statement on his website.
In 2022, the first year of the Russian invasion, the Zelenskiy family’s income fell further to 3.7 million hryvnia as he earned less income from renting real estate he owned because of the hostilities.
Even as the war allowed Ukrainian officials to withhold revealing sensitive personal information, Zelenskiy pushed to make them publicly declare assets. Increasing transparency and tackling graft are necessary for his country to ensure continued financial aid from its western allies, even as more than $100 billion of funds are held up due to political maneuvering inside US and EU.
I think we’re gonna learn some things about him after this war is over that we won’t like. He’s doing great as a war time president, but no one is this squeaky clean.
…and that is okay. He is still doing an incredible job and is an incredible public figure.
Nobody is perfect, nor do they have to be.
Absolutely. I couldn’t agree more.
I just see a lot of people putting him on a pedestal that are probably gonna be let down some day.
True.
For example Churchill: great wartime PM, but also very much an anti-worker free market believing imperialist who actively fought against both independence for and immigration from the British colonies. People tend to only remember the first part, though.
My dad, who was a socialist until the day he died, told me proudly about how he booed Churchill when Churchill came to visit his high school after the war, but when he was still PM. He was Jewish, so he appreciated Churchill’s war leadership that kept the Nazis from invading, but otherwise thought he was a shit leader.
And wasn’t he kinda known for being a drunk? (Still one of the most quotable people in recent history)
Nobody really cares about that part though.
Bring the leader of a country during WW2 happens to be a great excuse for alcoholism
True enough.
Yeah we are? Most normal people don’t have huge skeletons in their closet.
But almost everyone has at least one skeleton.
I don’t have any…? Most people don’t I would think.
I agree regarding closet, but I believe most people have a skeleton inside their meatbag.
Yeah I’m far too boring to have dark secrets. But I feel like people in the public eye are probably more prone to them.
Some have two or more, but in nearly all cases, they’re women. Makes u think
Here’s his approval rating over time that reflects this point perfectly. He’s supported in his actions during the war way more than he was as a politician, he was actually doing pretty badly before the war in his approvals. Interested to see how the prolonged conflict affects this, and what the regional differences are.
But you could say the same thing about you, just you’re not in a spotlight. What’s the point of even saying ‘everyone has something’.
Yes, I am included in ‘everyone’.
The reason I say it is because Zelensky has been put on a pretty high pedestal, for example:
And some folks are going to be sorely disappointed later on when they learn more about him and where his failings lie.
Yeah alright, again, same could be said about anyone.
Which would be meaningless for nearly anyone that’s not in a position of power and influence, yes.
I’m really not sure what your point is here.