A photo of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posing in front of a painting depicting a burning Kremlin published by Time magazine provoked anger in Moscow on Tuesday.
“This probably best shows the level of intellectual development and the internal state of those who pose for photos like this,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the photo published by the US magazine on Monday, according to the TASS state news agency.
Time described its report as an exclusive on the endgame in Ukraine.
The 2022 painting entitled “Dream” by Georgian artist Sandro Antadze is said to be Zelensky’s favourite symbol of victory in the war launched by Russia more than three years ago.
The painting, which hangs in a room behind the president’s office according to Time, was also on display during Zelensky’s New Year address on December 31, 2023. In the address he said that those bringing hell to Ukraine would one day see it from their own window.
In the article, Time reports that a picture of a Russian ship sinking in the Black Sea in 2022 hangs over Zelensky’s bed.
Another painting shows Ukrainian troops in combat on Russian soil.
Referring to the paintings, Zelensky tells the magazine: “Each one’s about victory … That’s where I live.”