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“As you know, madness is like gravity...all it takes is a little push”: Latest of Vogue magazine featuring a glossy photoshoot of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky with wife Alena elicited a harsh reaction online amid the military conflict with Russia

The Ukrainian leader was blasted online for posing for the magazine with his wife amid the ongoing military conflict
 |  Satyaagrah  |  Politics
Zelensky’s Vogue photoshoot raises eyebrows
Zelensky’s Vogue photoshoot raises eyebrows

The latest edition of Vogue magazine featuring a glossy photoshoot with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky with his wife Alena elicited a mixed reaction online amid the military conflict with Russia.

Tuesday’s article, which primarily focused on the 44-year-old first lady, features a series of shots of the couple taken by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz. In one photo, the two are seen hugging each other while seated at a table. In another, the first lady sits on a grand staircase as the president stands guard behind her. Another shows Alena standing beside the remains of an Antonov AN-225 Mriya surrounded by armed soldiers.

Reactions to the article have been mixed. Some have called the photo shoot “beautiful” and “powerful,” and defended the couple’s decision to pose for Vogue as shining a light on the conflict in Ukraine, keeping it at the forefront of international attention.

Verizon executive Tami Erwin wrote on Twitter that the article was “an outstanding profile” and commended the first lady for doing an incredible job representing her people.

Others, however, used the glossy photos as evidence that the West should not have sent billions in military aid to Ukraine, saying the photo session was in poor taste.

“While we send Ukraine $69 billion in aid Zelensky is doing photoshoots for Vogue Magazine,” Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert tweeted. “These people think we are nothing but a bunch of suckers.”

Congresswoman Mayra Flores (R-Texas) juxtaposed US President Joe Biden’s statements that Ukraine needs more money from America with the reality that the Zelensky family instead “graces us with a photo shoot to be on the cover of Vogue magazine.”

Rebel News Australia bureau chief Avi Yemini said the photoshoot reminded him of when he first saw Zelensky supposedly on the frontline in the early days of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

“I respected Zelensky at the beginning of the war when we were flooded with photos of the Ukrainian President on the frontline in tactical gear. Turned out the photos were faked. An act like the man himself. Now posing for Vogue. All to grift billions from western taxpayers,” Yemini wrote.

Zelensky also recently appeared on the cover of Wired magazine for its September/October issue, albeit in a less glamorous shoot. The Ukrainian leader told the magazine that it was important to be a good communicator in the world of social media.

“The internet is a reality. It is not another world, but rather a modern reality. So if you want people to perceive you as you are, you must use what people use,” he stated.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena Zelenska were heavily criticised by netizens for appearing on the cover of the Vogue magazine amid the ongoing war with Russia. While the Vogue Magazine described the cover as a ‘portrait of bravery’, netizens called it ‘insensitive and distasteful’.

The Vogue magazine has posted the image of Zelenska as its latest digital cover star. The images were released by Vogue on its official Instagram handle.
 
In one of the photos, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Olena Zelenska posed standing close to each other while in another photo they were seen sitting close holding hands of each other.
 
In another photo, First Lady Olena Zelenska is seen posing with a broken vehicle with three Ukrainian soldiers standing guard.
 
In another Olena Zelenska posed on the stairs of a building, padded with sand bags used in military bunkers.
The photographs were taken by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz.
 
According to reports, the fashion magazine has said that Olena Zelenska’s full profile will be available in the October issue.
 
As the Vogue photoshoot comes amid a war that has torn Ukraine, the act was not appreciated by many users on the Internet who severely criticised the couple for the photoshoot. Netizens took to Twitter to express their anger over the misplaced priorities of the Ukrainian President.
 
When you elect an actor as your President, priorities set even in times of a war. Zelenskyy and his wife shoot for a feature in Vogue. 
 
Levi @Levi_godman said truly, "Massive amount of ukrainian soldiers dying every day, Zelensky : lets have a vogue shooting"
 
Mike Ciandella @MikeCiandella put it like this, "People forget about major world events annoyingly fast. I’m not sure that doing a Vogue photo shoot was the best way to remedy that, but I get why Zelenskyy would do it."
 
Netizens also trolled the Ukrainian President and his wife calling the photoshoot ‘cringe’.
 
 
Somehow Zelenskyy finds the time to shoot Vogue covers, attend Bono concerts and hang out with Ben Stiller. Some “war” he’s got going on over there!
 
 
Ukraine has been at war with Russia since February this year. According to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) data, about 5,237 civilians have died in Russia's military attack on Ukraine since February 2022.
 
 
As of July 24, 2022, about 7,035 people were reported to have been injured due to Russia's war in Ukraine. The OHCHR has specified that the real numbers could be higher.
 
Ron @rmmusa1 observed and did that correctly, {Nice analysis of Zelensky's role in the Ukraine/Russia mess. "He has had multiple opportunities to do what's right for his people, but doing so would not achieve the goals of the Liberal World Order that controls him."}
 

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