Zelenskiy Turns On the Charm at Davos With Humor, Handshakes and Hugs
The Ukrainian president spent 24 hours pitching the Wall Street elite for investment and patching up ties with old allies as part of a push to shore up the faltering war effort
Davos, Tuesday evening, Ukraine House: The security is tighter than any other venue along the main street as a huddle of secret-service types with dark suits and earpieces stick close to Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Private bodyguards are all over the Swiss resort when the billionaires come to town, but there’s no one who faces threats like Zelenskiy.
The Ukrainian president had arrived in Switzerland amid a growing sense that momentum on the battlefield is shifting in favor of Vladimir Putin and the alliances that sustained his country through two years of fighting are starting to fray, not least because of a series of outbursts from Zelenskiy. Davos marked a moment to reset the narrative.