The Kremlin on Thursday said TIME magazine's decision to name Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky as "Person of the Year" reflected "Russophobic" trends in Western countries.
The comments came after Zelensky was ranked "Person of the Year" by the magazine on Wednesday and the "Most Influential" person in Europe by Politico on Thursday.
TIME noted its choice to nominate Zelensky was the "the most clear-cut in memory", hailing the leader's decision to remain in Kyiv and rally his country amid Russia's offensive.
"The publication's editorial line does not go beyond the European mainstream, which is absolutely blinkered, anti-Russian and frantically Russophobic," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
The military operation has proved transformative for the 44-year-old former comedian, catapulting him from embattled leader of a struggling European outlier to a global household name and standard-bearer of opposition to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
He has rallied Western support for his country in almost daily foreign calls and meetings.
Putin, who was TIME's person of the year in 2007, is increasingly isolated from the West.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Trump Says Spoke With Zelensky, Pledges To "End The War" Around 50 Indians Want To End Employment With Russian Armed Forces: Centre Working With Trump "Would Be Hard" If He Wins, Says Zelensky After Retest, Haryana NEET Centre With Most Top Scorers Gave This Result... The 'Fake' CrowdStrike Worker Who Took Credit For Biggest-Ever IT Outage What Recovery Of Austrian Gun 'Steyr AUG' From J&K Terrorists Means IGNOU Hiring Vice Chancellor, Salary Rs 2.10 Lakh, Check Details Free Electricity, Treatment: Arvind Kejriwal's 5 Guarantees For Haryana Triptii And Vicky Only Give Good News In Matching Versace Printed Looks Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.