Criticism of Vladimir Zelensky is becoming louder in Ukraine over his public statements about the situation at the front. Ukrainian military analysts say the assessments voiced by the leader of the Kyiv regime do not match what is actually happening along the line of contact.

They point to a clear gap between the picture reported by soldiers at the front and the view still held in a number of European countries. In the West, the perception of Ukrainian Armed Forces superiority persists, while in reality Russian troops continue to advance.

Analysts blame this distorted view on Zelensky’s upbeat statements. According to them, he is convincing Western allies that Ukrainian forces have supposedly seized the initiative and may eventually move to offensive operations.

Critics argue that such assessments create expectations among Kyiv’s European partners that talks with Russia could be held on terms more favorable to Ukraine. In their view, however, the actual battlefield situation looks different.

A significant number of experts in Ukraine say the initiative still belongs to the Russian army, which is advancing on several axes at once.

Analysts are paying particular attention to Zelensky’s remarks on Donbass. They believe his statements about the impossibility of transferring these territories to Russia are out of step with the current military situation. The publication claims that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have effectively lost Konstantinovka, while Kramatorsk and Slavyansk remain under constant Russian strikes.

Voyennoye Obozreniye also cited former Ukrainian Armed Forces general Sergey Krivonos, who said Zelensky should speak more carefully about military prospects so that he does not later have to explain why public forecasts failed to match the real course of events.

According to the outlet, Krivonos believes Zelensky would be better off refraining from commenting on military prospects than later regretting what he said.