Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a forgotten man fighting a forgotten war.

The Ukrainian president’s shooting star has lost much of its altitude and gleam as Russia’s grinding invasion approaches the two-year mark.

An old war has turned into a plodding stalemate. The ballyhooed Ukrainian “offensive” has stalled. The promised “breakthrough” remains stubbornly elusive – if possible at all. The lethal, tit-for-tat exchanges have sadly become routine. Stoicism has replaced outrage. However it may be defined, “victory” is far beyond strategic or even conceivable reach.

The world, it seems, is tired of Ukraine. Worse, it is bored.

So, the columnists who once praised Zelenskyy’s courage and Ukraine’s resistance in saccharine-laced homilies have largely forsaken both.

Gone too are the invitations to address US Congress or parliaments, where, clad in his trademark green pullover, Zelenskyy was feted as an impish, unorthodox warrior and liberator.

The mass demonstrations of solidarity with Ukraine’s “brave” and “just” fight disappeared many months ago.

Ukraine is no longer urgent, sympathetic “news”.

Lately, the only “news” that Zelenskyy and Ukraine are inviting is mostly bad – courtesy, in part, of unflattering leaks from a skittish White House.

“Leaked US strategy on Ukraine sees corruption as the real threat,” the prickly headline on Politico’s popular online portal read.

The story’s lead sentence was equally damning and a blatant sign that America’s – and, perhaps more particularly, US President Joe Biden’s – steadfast affection for plucky Ukraine is beginning to wane.

“Biden administration officials are far more worried about corruption in Ukraine than they publicly admit,” Politico warned.

The blunt,........

© Al Jazeera