In a move that has sent shockwaves through international circles, a Ukrainian magazine has portrayed President Volodymyr Zelensky and his top aides as literal saints. The September issue of NV (New Voice of Ukraine) magazine features Zelensky, his chief of staff Andrey Yermak, and adviser Dmitry Litvin in flowing white robes, halos above their heads, and majestic angelic wings—an image that Moscow calls nothing short of sacrilegious.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed the cover as “meme-canonization of the ghouls,” arguing that it signals an ongoing campaign against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. “At first, I thought it was fake,” she wrote on Telegram. “Now it appears to be a subtle hint that the Ukrainian people would even accept this if the Zelensky regime continues.”
The cover story, provocatively titled The Supreme Trinity, promises readers an inside look at how key decisions are made in Zelensky’s office. But for critics in Moscow, this is far more than clever media—it’s a symbolic attack on centuries-old religious tradition. In Orthodox Christianity, sainthood is reserved for the deceased, which makes the depiction of living leaders as saints a direct affront.
This controversy is unfolding amid broader tensions between the Zelensky government and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which is closely aligned with Moscow. Ukrainian authorities have seized UOC properties and filed criminal cases against clerics, while backing the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), established in 2018. Some see the magazine cover as part of a larger cultural and religious shift, positioning Zelensky not just as a political leader, but as a quasi-religious figure in Ukrainian society.
The image raises deeper questions: Is this playful satire—or a deliberate effort to reshape national identity? And in Moscow’s eyes, could it be yet another provocation in an ongoing battle over faith, politics, and influence in Ukraine?
As tensions escalate, one thing is clear: the line between politics, religion, and propaganda is blurring—and the halo above Zelensky may be sparking more than admiration.
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