Zelensky isn't manufacturing situations. I think he is primarily guilty of being overenthusiastic. That he wants NATO in to help isn't surprising. It is not because he is scheming to start WW3, but because he genuinely desperate and eager to save his own country. He is fighting primarily for his own people and their interests.

I think we can cut him some slack. That doesn't mean we have to trust everything he says. We know where he is coming from and his motivations and must simply act accordingly based on what we see as most sensible.

When you compare to the lying machine in the Kremlin there is just no comparison. Whatever Zelensky is guilty of, he is staying much closer to the truth than what Putin and his cronies are.