How have 4 years of battle modified Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin?

All through 1,460 days of the Ukraine battle, two figures have remained central.

The selections made by Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, their management kinds, and their standing on the worldwide stage have formed a battle quickly coming into its fifth yr.

However how have the battle’s two central figures modified prior to now 4 years?

Sky Information has explored every chief’s home and international picture, in addition to how the battle has formed them personally, on this piece.

Comply with dwell updates of the Ukraine battle

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Mr Zelenskyy has undergone one of the crucial dramatic picture transformations of any modern chief prior to now 4 years, going from a comparatively inexperienced president to a central image of resistance and democratic defiance.

Whereas his background in performing made his rise to Ukraine’s highest workplace an unlikely one, Mr Zelenskyy match the presidential mould in his early years, no less than in look.

Usually seen clean-shaven and suited, photos of Ukraine’s chief from earlier than the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022 now make him seem boyish in comparison with the hardened wartime chief of 2026.

Mr Zelenskyy is now hardly ever noticed in something aside from army fatigues, one thing that famously irked Donald Trump when he hosted the Ukrainian president for a disastrous assembly on the White Home final yr.

Zelenskyy at residence

Domestically, the 2022 invasion noticed Mr Zelenskyy expertise an preliminary surge in approval and belief as Ukrainians rallied behind their chief.

His determination to remain in Kyiv and lead from the capital, even after affords to evacuate for his personal security, turned symbolic of Ukrainian resistance, enhancing his credibility and sense of goal.

“The battle is right here; I would like ammunition, not a experience,” he reportedly informed US officers as Russia’s 35-mile armoured convoy closed in on the capital.

From that second on, Mr Zelenskyy has remained a central unifying determine in Ukraine, offering nightly video updates to tell and rally his individuals and making visits to frontline cities to encourage his troops.

Inevitably, because the battle has progressed, financial pressure, battle fatigue, and high-profile political controversies (together with protests over anti-corruption establishments and an investigation into large-scale bribery within the vitality sector) have seen his home approval scores decline barely, although he nonetheless maintains broad help general.

Zelenskyy overseas

Mr Zelenskyy’s international standing skyrocketed after 2022. He turned not simply Ukraine’s chief however the face of its diplomatic effort, repeatedly addressing parliaments, world leaders and public audiences to maintain international help.

By framing the battle with Russia as a broader battle between democracy and authoritarianism, Ukraine’s president positioned his nation on the world stage as defending each European and Western values.

He is been profitable in his repeated makes an attempt to deliver monetary and army help to Ukraine and maintained working relationships with key allies all through the battle. He even wrestled Donald Trump again from the brink after their disastrous White Home assembly final February.

Outdoors questions stay – largely from Europe – over Mr Zelenskyy’s potential to deal with corruption at residence, whereas his status in Russia has remained unfavourable, however his picture on the world stage general stays optimistic.

Zelenskyy the person

So, what about how the final 4 years have modified Mr Zelenskyy personally?

There isn’t any doubt in regards to the toll the battle has taken on the president and his household, because it has for thousands and thousands of Ukrainians.

Within the early months of the battle, his household had been evacuated and brought to secret areas to maintain them secure. That separation had a transparent influence on Mr Zelenskyy.

Based on First Girl Olena Zelenska, her husband now appreciates the straightforward issues extra, comparable to communication together with his household.

“Ship him a photograph of his son or inform him what his daughter mentioned. And it touches him very emotionally now,” she mentioned in 2023.

“He wasn’t so delicate to it earlier than.”

Vladimir Putin

Regardless of hoping to see Ukraine capitulate inside days, Russia’s invasion has now dragged into its fifth yr. In that point, Mr Putin’s international standing has largely deteriorated to pariah standing.

The Ukraine battle has recast his picture, each domestically because the wartime chief Russia “wants” (in state narratives) and internationally as a extra marginalised, conflict-driven determine.

Personally, the Russian president has turn into extra remoted for the reason that invasion, each by way of his public appearances and his manner – claiming he “jokes much less” for the reason that battle started.

Putin at residence

Inside Russia, Mr Putin’s recognition has been sustained by a mixture of state-controlled messaging, repression of dissent and wartime patriotic mobilisation, even amid financial pressure and army setbacks.

His approval scores initially rose sharply after the invasion started, reaching a number of the highest figures in years, with a surge in patriotic sentiment and help for “defending Russia”.

And whereas sanctions, mobilisation and financial pressures dented some help, impartial and state pollsters nonetheless typically report vital backing for Mr Putin amongst many Russians.

Even so, it may be tough to gauge public opinion of the president inside Russia because of censorship and media management.

The Kremlin has demanded lively participation in and help for the battle from society since 2022, not simply quiet compliance.

Opposition politics are outlawed, impartial media has been nearly solely dismantled or subjected to strict “international agent” legal guidelines, and even mentioning the battle in ways in which contradict official narratives can result in jail sentences.

However that hasn’t stopped some direct criticism. One girl wrote to Mr Putin demanding a proof as to why her late son, an 18-year-old conscript, had been concerned in fight.

The spiralling price of dwelling has additionally broken Mr Putin at residence. For a lot of households, on a regular basis necessities – from primary groceries to gas and housing – have turn into markedly dearer, squeezing incomes regardless of official assurances of financial resilience.

Throughout his 2025 annual tackle, Russians despatched messages for the president to reply, lots of which raised considerations over the state of the economic system.

Putin overseas

Outdoors Russia’s borders, Mr Putin’s status has worsened markedly.

Whereas relations with many Western governments had been already strained earlier than 2022, the invasion of Ukraine reworked long-standing suspicion into broad diplomatic isolation.

Mr Putin not sits comfortably at international tables and boards frequented by world powers, whereas a number of Western governments have severed ties solely.

In response, Russia’s president has saved relationships together with his few remaining allies shut, narrowing his diplomatic circle.

Learn extra: How Moscow and its allies are attempting to show their immunity to Western strain

He signed a complete strategic partnership with North Korea in 2024 and signed an analogous deal, promising future funding, with China in 2025.

The outlier is the US.

Mr Putin had no contact with the White Home in the course of the early phases of the battle beneath Joe Biden. However the return of Donald Trump introduced a shift in strategy: a number of telephone calls and a face-to-face assembly in Alaska have recommended a want to redefine the 2 powers’ relationship.

Putin the person

As with Mr Zelenskyy, there’s little doubt that 4 years of battle have additionally taken a major toll on Russia’s chief.

Throughout his 2024 year-end press convention, he said that the continued battle in Ukraine had modified him, inflicting him to “joke much less” and “nearly cease laughing”.

He additionally mentioned that his focus has shifted, stating his happiness wouldn’t be full till all Russian forces return from the frontline.

Mr Putin additionally seems to have turn into extra bodily and socially remoted in the course of the battle, with fewer spontaneous public interactions and lowered international journey in contrast with pre-war years.