Controversial MEP Mick Wallace has criticized the Ukrainian president for appearing on the digital cover of Vogue magazine.
The response to the cover story of Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska received mixed reactions, with some calling it a “beautiful” and “powerful image,” while others criticized the couple for posing for a magazine while the country is at war.
The couple spoke in a personal interview with Vogue in Kiev.
MEP Wallace shared the cover on Twitter, accusing President Zelensky of “sending the less privileged to war” to “facilitate the US and NATO agenda”.
He wrote: “These are reports of Ukraine losing 1000 soldiers a day, but it seems Zelinsky is safe as he sends the less privileged to war to facilitate the US NATO agenda, while an inept and compromised EU dances to the tune of the US, at the expense of its citizens with self-defeating sanctions…”
Wallace did not cite any source for the claim that Ukraine was losing 1,000 soldiers a day.
In 2017, Mr Wallace was disqualified for six years from corporate involvement after admitting to knowingly tampering with his company’s VAT returns.
Construction company MJ Wallace undervalued 1.4 million euros in VAT to the tax authorities between 2008 and 2010, which was “deliberate and systematic” and amounted to a “fraud at the tax authorities”, a judge said.
Ms. Zelenska is Vogue’s latest digital cover star, where she is photographed sitting in the presidential office in black pants and a white top.
She is also depicted holding her hand to her chest while surrounded by wreckage and soldiers.
“These have been the most terrible months of my life, and the life of every Ukrainian,” she told the publication
“We are looking forward to the win. We have no doubt that we will be victorious. And that keeps us going.”
In the extended interview, the Ukrainian First Lady said she was initially upset when her husband decided to run for president.
“I respected his choice and I understood that this was an important step for him to make,” she said.
“At the same time, I felt that my life and that of my family would change quite radically.
“The change would be lengthy and quite complex.
The Ukrainian president said his wife is “truly my best friend”.
He added: “She is also a patriot and she loves Ukraine very much. It’s true. And she is an excellent mother.”