Ukraine's President has won plaudits and admiration on the international stage while becoming a "national hero" at home.
But in one corner of his country, many have long doubted him.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has risen as an unlikely leader, an actor turned president whose war efforts have won him stratospheric popularity.
Now, some wonder if he can maintain his new-found support with difficult compromises still being debated in peace talks this weekend.
The Lviv region in western Ukraine was the only one in the country not to cast a majority vote for the now 44-year-old president.
Residents here preferred his rival, then-president Petro Poroshenko, with around 63 per cent supporting the incumbent and only 34 per cent supporting Mr Zelenskyy.
But as the war drags into its fifth week, the feelings in this corner of the country are shifting.
Tamara Mykula is a mother from the Lviv region who has changed her mind on her country's leader.
"Now, I support Zelenskyy 99 per cent, because 1 per cent, I still have some doubts," she told the ABC.
"But we live in a democratic country and so the majority voted for him, and I respected that.
"My father, and my husband are now in the military … and I respect the way our President is leading us in war now," she said through tears.
Timofi Tishkov is another Lviv local who had serious doubts about a former comedian and Dancing with The Stars contestant leading Ukraine.
"I didn't vote for this guy and I don't like him as a President in peaceful times … I thought he made a lot of stupid decisions in terms of our international relations and even local economic things," he said.
"However, now during war he has my full support because there is no time for political fighting and we need to fight against our common enemy.
"Right now, I am fully with him, I think we are in good hands, but later on we'll see."
From 'naive' political newcomer to 'national hero'
It is a similar story across the country, as approval ratings for Mr Zelenskyy skyrocket.
His ratings had slumped after he arrived in office in mid-2019, and by December 2021 they sat at just 30 per cent.
But in February 2022, right after the war started, his popularity was estimated to be over 90 per cent, according to local polls.
"Zelenskyy was extremely popular when he was elected and this was a very interesting phenomenon because he was never engaged in politics," said Olexiy Haran, professor of comparative politics at the University of Kyiv's Mohyla Academy.
The actor-turned-politician capitalised on the success of his production company's popular TV series Servant of the People, in which he starred as a high school history teacher who becomes a much-loved president.
"He basically turned that [show] into real life … but it was not so easy when he got in because he was very naive and even unprofessional," Professor Haran told the ABC from his apartment in Kyiv.
Mr Zelenskyy's approval rating plummeted for the first two years of his presidency and his election promise to resolve tensions with Russia became increasingly impossible to deliver.
"He believed at that time that he could bring peace just by sitting down [with Russian President Vladimir Putin] and talk about it … again it showed that he was so naive," Professor Haran said.
"We have a joke in Ukraine that every president who is elected, he believes that he could have better relations with Russia … then they become defensive when they realise it's just not possible because another leader wants to swallow up Ukraine.
"Still, he is our national hero … and we hope he can end this war, many of us believe in him."
Zelenskyy faces 'unacceptable' compromise for peace deal
As the Russian invasion enters its second month, the Ukrainian president faces his greatest test: securing a peace deal.
So far, negotiations in Belarus and Turkey have failed to yield any countrywide ceasefire or widespread de-escalation.
Ukraine has said it will consider neutral and non-nuclear status, which would stop it from joining a Western military alliance like NATO, but it wants freedom to join the European Union.
Moscow claimed it would limit its attacks on the capital Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv while the talks continue.
But both Ukraine and Western leaders say attacks have continued and they have not seen a mass withdrawal of troops.
Instead, many analysts believe Moscow is withdrawing some forces to reorganise its campaign and refocus on the Donbas region, in Ukraine's east.
"Unfortunately, it's hard to imagine how to stop this war without compromise, but it depends which kind of compromises [Zelenskyy] makes," Kyiv resident Oleh Hohlov, who fled to Lviv, told the ABC.
"My great hope is the future of contested territories will be decided diplomatically."
One of the main points of contention in these negotiations is territory – particularly ownership of breakaway territories in the Donbas region, and Crimea in the south.
It is understood the offer Ukraine brought to peace talks pushed for a 15-year window to diplomatically decide the status of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
But with Russia showing little willingness to compromise, Mr Zelenskyy faces a tough choice: keep fighting the war with his limited military might, or consider concessions Ukrainians may hate him for.
"The Ukrainian authorities are now pushing for Russian troops to withdraw to the line they held before February 24 [when the war began]," Professor Haran said.
"This is a compromise.
"No Ukrainian president would recognise annexation of Crimea or not try to hold territories in Donbas.
Despite the war around her, 25-year-old Anna Koval is hopeful about the future of her country – especially with Mr Zelenskyy at the helm.
"He's very good for Ukrainians because we all started to believe in him more, because you know, before the war started, we thought [he was] maybe not good enough," she said.
"But after it happened, he took a position to stay with a nation, which means for us that he is a leader of for all of us.
"We hope that he is feeling maybe our vibe of people … and that he knows what we want from him."
