Olena Zelenska's August warning about Russia still holds true six months on

In August 2023, Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska warned the world about what a Russian victory in Ukraine would mean for the future. This is what she said as well as why her words are still important so many months after her comments.  

The beginning of August 2023 was a worrying time for Ukraine. It was not yet clear that the country's summer counteroffensive had failed but there were signs Moscow had gotten the upper hand in the fighting.

Ukrainian officials were trying to keep the plight of their people front and center in the minds of the global public and that may have been why Olena Zelensky sat down with The Independent for an exclusive interview.

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Ukraine’s First Lady warned during her interview that a Russian victory over her country in the ongoing war would be “the worst-case scenario for all humanity” according to a report from The Independent about the conversation. 

Zelenska gave what the British news organization called a “heartfelt plea” to the citizens of the world not to lose interest in what was happening in Ukraine, explaining in her interview with Independent TV that her country was fighting for “the democratic balance of the world.”

The statement may seem a bit hyperbolic but important leaders in Moscow like former president Dmitry Medvedev had stated their willingness to go beyond the scope of the special military operation at the time and push to Poland in order to ensure Russia’s security. 

"That is why it is so important to achieve all the goals of the special military operation,” Medvedev wrote in a Telegram message on the anniversary of Moscow's invasion where he said Russia wouldn’t be safe until the conflict was ended and Ukraine was defeated.  

“To push back the borders that threaten our country as far as possible, even if they are the borders of Poland," Medvedev continued, according to a translation of his comments from Reuters. 

It was this type of threat that Zelenska was warning about when she explained her fear that the world was underestimating the threat Russia posed to global security as the conflict in Ukraine reached its year-and-a-half mark. 

“If the aggressor wins now, it will be the worst-case scenario for all of humanity,” the first lady explained to Independent TV while speaking from the presidential palace in Kyiv. 

“This will mean that global deterrents aren’t working. This will mean that anyone with power, strength, and sufficient financial capacity can do whatever they want.” Zelenska added in a statement that hit at the heart of Russia’s unilateral invasion of Ukraine.

The first lady made a desperate appeal for countries to speed up their military aid because the weapons were needed now, and while long-term commitments to supply key arms were helpful, Zelenska said they wouldn’t help Ukraine win if they arrived too slowly.  

“We keep hearing from our Western partners that they will be with us as long as it takes. ‘Long’ is not the word we should use. We should use the word ‘faster’,” Zelenska said. 

Newsweek noted in a report on Zelenska’s interview that several Western leaders have stated their intentions to stand by Ukraine as long as it takes and added that the United States had pledged $43 billion in aid since Russia invaded in February 2022. 

Much more was said about the cost Ukraine was enduring and the first lady noted that her people were paying for the war with their blood while the world was paying for the fight with their resources, two things she said were incompatible while urging for faster help. 

Zelenska also opened up in the interview about the fears she has for her family and for her country according to The Independent. Volodymyr Zelensky and Olena have been forced to live apart throughout the war for security reasons and rarely see each other.

“I want to be together again. We really hope that somehow all this will change and we will be able to live a more or less normal family life,” Zelenska said.

Zelenska’s final message to the world was a somber one. She asked those watching to not forget about what was happening in Ukraine, urging people to “not get fatigued.”

“Ukraine defends not only its interests, not only its life. We are trying to maintain the whole democratic balance in the world,” Zelenska concluded. 

Unfortunately, Zelenska's August 2023 warning to the world was not heeded by the allies of Ukraine and the last six months have seen Kyiv's plight fall in importance. Ukraine has not received aid from the U.S. since December 2023, and Russia looks stronger than ever following Vladimir Putin's presidential election win.

Only time will tell if Ukraine can weather the oncoming storm, but now more than ever Olena Zeleska's warning seems true. Ukraine is fighting for the free world but it appears as if the free world is forgetting about this fight.