With another season, Vogue’s story on a politician has caused a kerfuffle. After the disruption over the magazine not giving Melania Trump a cover, despite Michelle Obama got three, and the to-do over Kamala Harris’ “relaxed” portrait being chosen over her more formal cover try, comes a new controversy, related to a “digital cover” released online featuring Ukrainian’s first lady Olena Zelenska.

The cover, titled “Portrait of Bravery,” is a collaboration between the Condé Nast Vogues (pretty much all of them) and Ukrainian Vogue (a licensed magazine owned by Media Group Ukraine).

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In the cover, it has moody portraits of Zelenska by Annie Leibovitz: sitting on the marble steps of the presidential palace, staring grimly ahead; holding hands with her husband, President Volodymyr Zelensky; and standing next to female soldiers at Antonov Airport, clutching the lapels of a long navy overcoat.

The photos are accompanied by a lengthy interview and some BTS video footage of the first couple and Leibovitz. It will appear in print later this year.

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Unlike Zelenska’s first Ukrainian Vogue cover, which appeared in November 2019 not long after Zelensky was elected, and which showed the first lady romping with her family and styled in Celine, Prada, Lemaire and Jimmy Choo, the new feature depicts fashion credits.

Zelenska appears polished, but the story focuses on the pain and trauma of her country and its people, as well as the couple’s relationship. In the picture, none of the subjects are seen smiling for the camera.

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A single line under one photograph notes that Zelenska is wearing entirely Ukrainian designs and lists their names. This may seem like a small thing to most viewers, but it takes the commercial element out of the shoot.

Meanwhile, the article has provoked an alleged backlash. Some viewers have a visceral reaction to juxtaposing the idea of “Vogue” — with its historic connections to elitism, fantasy, wealth and frivolity — and the reality of war.

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For example, there was an embarrassingly fawning profile of the Syrian first lady, Asma Assad, published in 2011 just around the time Assad’s husband, Bashar Assad, was revealed to be a bloody dictator.

Rep. Mayra Flores seized the opportunity to slam the Biden administration for its financial support of Ukraine, implying it was funding vanity. Breitbart wrote a gleeful article aggregating the criticism.

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However, several other readers have come in support of Zelenska, seeing the shoot as a symbol of national pride: a means to show the world Ukrainian elegance; a reminder of the balm that can be found in beauty; and a subtle nod to shared humanity in the face of inhuman aggression.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is a war being conducted on all fronts: on the ground, in the air, in the digital sphere and in the arena of public opinion. Vogue — and, indeed, any outlet that allows the Ukrainian people to reach different swathes of the global population and influence sentiment — is one of them.