It's day 154 of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the UN alleges over 12,272 casualties so far, airstrikes are being reported today from Odesa and Mykolaiv, and the president and first lady of Ukraine held a photo shoot for Vogue magazine.
One of those developments is not quite like the other.
Vogue called it a "portrait of bravery", placing first lady Olena Zelenska on the cover of its digital version, and posing her for photographs along soldiers and wreckage.
The accompanying story examined how Zelenska had found herself "center stage in a tragedy" and the impact of the war so far. "We're looking forward to victory," she said. "We have no doubt we will prevail. And this is what keeps us going."
“We have no doubt we will prevail.” As the war in Ukraine enters a critical new phase, the country’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, has become a key player—a frontline diplomat and the face of her nation’s emotional toll. https://t.co/DCXWYnzAsK pic.twitter.com/wcaY5IFGHf
— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) July 26, 2022
Vogue's Ukraine photo shoot was done by its favourite photographer, Annie Leibovitz. While Ukraine president Zelensky has been lauded for his response to his country's invasion, the response on social media to his photo shoot was mixed.
zelensky has done an extraordinary job in beating the russians in information warfare
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) July 27, 2022
vogue wartime photo shoot:
bad idea pic.twitter.com/8O9jjlL5Gn
wartime vogue photo shoots. very serious. let’s keep sending ukraine weekly billion dollar aid packages to protect “democracy.” don’t question it. pic.twitter.com/MXVaW16K0y
— Logan Hall (@loganclarkhall) July 26, 2022
Massive amount of ukrainian soldiers dying every day, Zelensky : lets have a vogue shooting pic.twitter.com/BrNPYKZYR6
— Levi (@Levi_godman) July 26, 2022
That it brings the world's attention to the war is bullshit. The Zelenskyys must be nuts to pose for a vanity magazine when their country is being ravaged and people are being killed. Optics ko maro goli, zameer bhi koi cheez hai #Vogue pic.twitter.com/KFCqNNfMki
— ᴋᴀᴍʟᴇsʜ sɪɴɢʜ / tau (@kamleshksingh) July 27, 2022
It's a questionable choice to use a war as the backdrop of a photo shoot. But one might argue it's pretty much in Vogue's wheelhouse. Over a decade ago, Vogue India did a photo shoot of "ordinary Indians" holding accessories they would never be able to afford – such as a $10,000 Hermès Birkin bag. More recently, the magazine was criticised for "whitewashing" US vice-president Kamala Harris when they put her on the cover in February 2020.
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