This diary hopes to tell a story which does not directly involve the daily carnage and battle front movements of the Russo-Ukrainian war. And yet it is hard to tell such a story about Ukraine without it being connected to the present crisis.
It is the story of two men. They have been together, these two guys, from the very beginning of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s presidency. And if recent photos are to be credited they both show, at least facially, the stresses and pressures of their journey together through a time of intense crisis and war.
If you look at a thousand pictures of President Zelenskyy in a public setting, including in trenches at the battle front, it is likely that at least 99% of the time you will see the image of a man blending into the scenery but always discretely close to the president with his head and eyes on a swivel. The two men are about the same build and a near look alike nowadays. This man has even affected the nowadays trade mark scruffy beard of his boss … to the extent that he, like his boss “has become an icon—even a sex symbol(emphasis mine)—and was recently mistaken for a supposed Zelensky body-double during the president’s historic visit to the U.S.”.
When the occasion calls for wearing suits, the athletic-looking man watching over the president wears one. If the occasion calls for wearing camo and Kevlar in full combat mode, he wears that, too. His name is Maksym Donets, the head of Zelenskyy’s presidential security detail, and a constant presence during public appearances. He also accompanies the president in high-risk situations, including visits to combat zones:
Zelensky’s Bodyguard: Meet The Man Protecting The Man
Ever alongside Zelensky, Donets is likely to remain in the background of historic videos and photographs as Ukraine seeks to eject Russian forces from its territory in the coming months, and perhaps years.
“He is watching the whole world around the president, everything that’s happening,” Mendel said. “He knows everyone and everywhere, what’s going to happen, every next step, where they’re going to go.
“The president is a very flexible person, he often wants to change the plans. So, for Donets it’s always a challenge. He copes, and this shows he’s really devoted and he’s really professional.”(emphasis mine)
Not much is known about Maksym Donets’ personal life. It is rumored that in addition to his day(and night) job, he’s studying to become a lawyer … just like his boss once was. It is not known, however, if he has a professional stand-up comedian’s chops like his boss.
In very trying times when danger lurks around every corner and Putin and Russia would try (as they have on several occasions already) to unalive Ukrainian President Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, the great people of ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE owe a debt of gratitude to Maksym Donets for continually watching over a man whose life and career are now verging on the Churchillian.
SLAVA UKRAINI ! PEREMOHA(Victory) !!