World Leader

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

President of Ukraine, Government of Ukraine

OVERALL RANK

#2of 712

WORLD LEADER RANK

#2of 492

Total Quotes

Positive36%

Neutral59%

Negative5%

Sentiment Breakdown

Quote Timeline

Coverage by Category18,121 total

Geopolitics98%

Global Economy0.7%

Energy Transition0.4%

Partnership Announcements0.1%

Business Strategy0.0%

Social Impact0.0%

Other1%

Analysis

Zelenskyy came to Davos with news that could end the war—and the world paid attention. His announcement of trilateral Ukraine-Russia-US negotiations in Abu Dhabi drove his coverage from 798 quotes on January 21st to 7,950 on January 22nd. Unlike Trump's polarizing reception, Zelenskyy maintained strong institutional support: 35.8% positive sentiment with a remarkably low 4.9% negative.

Zelenskyy's Davos 2026 appearance was strategically timed for maximum impact. While Trump dominated opening day coverage, Zelenskyy held his fire until January 22nd, when he announced breakthrough peace negotiations—a move that instantly redirected global attention.

The timeline tells the story: steady but modest coverage (300-800 quotes daily) until the Abu Dhabi announcement, then an explosive spike to 7,950 quotes. This wasn't accidental—Zelenskyy waited until Trump's speech had faded from headlines to drop his news.

The topical concentration is striking. Where Trump's coverage scattered across Geopolitics (76%), Global Economy (9%), and Policy Commentary (6%), Zelenskyy's was laser-focused: 97.8% Geopolitics, everything else negligible. He controlled his narrative with surgical precision.

The sentiment data reveals institutional alignment. At 35.8% positive and just 4.9% negative, Zelenskyy received warmer coverage than any other leader in an active conflict. Compare this to Putin's coverage in the same period and the contrast is stark—Davos clearly signaled whose side it was on.

His sample quotes show the messaging discipline: 'documents nearly ready,' 'last mile,' 'Donbas at the heart of negotiations.' Every statement advanced the peace process narrative while keeping expectations calibrated.

Key Findings

• Ranked #2 overall with 18,129 quotes—the most-covered non-American leader at Davos 2026
• Coverage spiked 10× on January 22nd (7,950 quotes) following his announcement of Abu Dhabi peace talks
• 97.8% of coverage (17,737 mentions) fell under Geopolitics—the single most topic-concentrated figure at the forum
• German media (N-tv, Schwäbische Post, Merkur.de) dominated sources, reflecting European security concerns
• Maintained the most favorable sentiment ratio among wartime leaders: only 4.9% negative coverage

Coverage by Source

N-tv927

Schwäbische Post339

Jutarnji list250

Merkur.de237

SAPO231

Fuldaer Zeitung190

Daily Mail Online182

Der Tagesspiegel179

DIE WELT178

wa.de173

Sample Quotes

“Our teams are working every day. It is not simple. The documents to end the war are nearly ready.”

POLITICO

“The Donbas issue will be at the heart of the Abu Dhabi negotiations.”

Deutsche Welle

“This is the last mile, which is the most difficult,”

ABC7

“The Donbas is a key issue,”

NDTV

“Zelensky said Russian, Ukrainian and American negotiators would hold trilateral meetings for the first time in Abu Dhabi on Friday and Saturday”

LExpress.fr

“Zelensky has said a proposed three-way split of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant between the US, Russia and Ukraine remains a big stumbling block.”