“Zelensky’s decisions seem to be increasingly guided by a desire to keep the free world from looking away.”

In April 2024, Time correspondent Simon Shuster discussed his newly published book, The Showman: Inside the Invasion that Shook the World and Made a Leader of Volodymyr Zelensky, at the Harriman Institute. Masha Udensiva-Brenner reached out to him in September to find out more about Ukrainian reactions to the book and his recent reporting:

Udensiva-Brenner: At the time of your talk at the institute in April, President Zelensky hadn’t read your book yet and the two of you hadn’t been in touch for six months. Has he read it now? If so, how did he react? And how has your relationship with him evolved since?

Shuster: President Zelensky read parts of the book that his staff translated for him, but the demands on his time and his limited English have not yet allowed him to read all of it. If all goes as planned, a Ukrainian-language edition should be available by the end of the year [2024]. A handful of his senior aides read the book in English and expressed appreciation. But their responses vary. One said it felt too soon to read the book as a Ukrainian, because the traumas of the war are too fresh for historical analysis. Another said the book made it feel like the invasion’s first year had been preserved in amber.

Udensiva-Brenner: During your talk you discussed the tension between your job to report honestly about the war, versus the expectations of some Ukrainians and supporters of Ukraine who want journalists to whitewash stories, in order to uphold wartime morale. Can you talk about specific moments in your recent reporting when you’ve faced this tension and any consequences that may have resulted from it?

Shuster: Reporters are not chaplains, and journalism is not a reliable place to look for comfort. Zelensky and his aides understood that. As one of them told me, “You’re unpredictable.” This wasn’t meant as a compliment, but that’s how I took it. Reality is unpredictable, as are the twists and turns of the war. So, my reporting, if it’s honest, cannot be expected to boost morale.

This summer I wrote a feature about the peace process Zelensky is pursuing. It explored both its failures and achievements, and the response from his team was mixed. Some found it useful to see their work under the interrogation lights. Others found it annoying or even detrimental. But they continued talking to me, and whatever the tone of our conversations might have lost in friendliness it gained in mutual respect.

Udensiva-Brenner: Your book is called The Showman because of Zelensky’s unique communication strategy, which draws on his acting skills and his experience as a celebrity. How has this strategy evolved over time and what does it look like in the third year of the war?

Shuster: As President Zelensky pointed out during one of our first conversations for the book, the world’s attention span is short, and sooner or later people get tired of hearing the same story. Zelensky’s undeniable skills as a communicator and a showman have been an enormous service to Ukraine in keeping the world’s focus on the story of this war. But every day it gets more difficult for him to keep telling that story in new ways. Now, nearly three years into the full-scale invasion, Zelensky’s decisions seem to be increasingly guided by a desire to keep the free world from looking away. ◆

Featured photo: Simon Shuster (right) interviewing President Zelensky. Photograph from the Office of the President of Ukraine