{
  "id": 15545059,
  "title": "As obstacles to peace go, Zelenskyy ranks below Trump",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/as-obstacles-to-peace-go-zelenskyy-ranks-below-trump",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-19T02:19:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Japan Times",
    "slug": "japan-times",
    "url": "https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/10/19/world/zelenskyy-trump-peace-obstacles/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Volodymyr Zelenskyy finds himself embroiled in conflict with the President of the United States over his insistence on continuing to bomb Russian oil refineries. This latest standoff has led both the Kremlin and Trump to claim Zelenskyy is the chief obstacle to achieving peace in Ukraine. However, Zelenskyy's troubles extend beyond this dispute. He is currently at odds with South Korea and facing scrutiny from Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies, who are investigating associates close to him. In fact, without the war, Zelenskyy might have been ousted in a normal election. Despite these challenges, if Donald Trump had told Ukrainians they needed to find a new leader willing to negotiate with Russia, the reporter asks, \"Are you kidding?\" In the list of individuals responsible for prolonging Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Zelenskyy ranks third, behind Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump himself.",
  "summary": "In the hierarchy of politicians responsible for the continuation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Zelenskyy ranks only third, after Putin and Trump.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}