| In mid May, president Volodymyr Zelensky sat down for an interview with tech journalist Geoffrey Cain, who reports that Zelensky didn't look like the charismatic figure we've become accustomed to seeing on TV and social media. That observation shouldn't be taken as a criticism—far from it. Instead, it's a completely understandable visual cue of the toll that war can take on people, including leaders of countries. "The drops of rain are as visible on me as on any other person," Zelensky said. As Cain notes, though, the president was still able to muster the occasional smile and even a positive outlook on the future. "Each generation is still smarter than the past one. The future is still wider than the past." May it be so. For now, the latest news of the war has been mixed. This week, Russian troops have nearly overtaken the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk, while Germany and the United States have both pledged further arms support for Ukraine. The European Union, minus a few countries, strengthened its support for a ban on Russian oil. But as he told Cain, Zelensky is skeptical of anything less than a total ban, because without total sanctions, loopholes will be there to exploit. "I want our allies to follow the sanctions to the end, block Russia, and show that the civilized world is stronger than any energy resource," Zelensky told WIRED. As the war drags on into its fourth month, Zelensky remains clear and focused on what matters in the end: "The question of the price of freedom … has now become a reality. You know this price. You have seen the number of people who died." For his perspectives on a range of topics—what effect Big Tech companies can have on the war, the effectiveness of Elon Musk's Starlink system, and why modern leaders ought to appeal to the distracted social media generation—read Zelensky's wide-ranging interview. Matthew McKnight | Features Editor |
