Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is an obvious target for Russian invaders. And yet he was appearing from his official office in Kyiv on Monday night, in A video that was part selfie and part doomsday presidential address.
No Trump. But while Trump uses social media to bully opponents and scuttle faith in American democracy, Zelensky is using short Internet videos and social media posts to build support for his own democracy as it erodes. facing being.
Zelensky invited comparison on Tuesday when he relied on Churchill’s most famous speech, delivered at Britain’s darkest hour and broadcast to inspire the country.
When he addressed the UK House of Commons via video, Zelensky compared the conflict in Ukraine to the conflict in Britain at the time.
Under Churchill’s leadership, England would not bow down to the fascists.
Ukraine under Zelensky will not roll over for Vladimir Putin.
The House of Commons cheered Zelensky and gave him a standing ovation.
Yet, while the West has imposed severe sanctions on Russia, it has not yet cut off Russian oil supplies to Western countries. And it looks like the US will not give him the no-fly zone he wants to protect Ukrainians from Russian air power.
There may be some kind of half-measure. If America gives Poland some aircraft made in America, then Poland has offered to give Ukraine its Soviet-era MiG fighter jets through America.
an important difference. Churchill hoped that America would engage in World War II, which he eventually did.
Zelensky is definitively told that the US will not take up arms against nuclear-armed Russia because it could start World War III.
better comparison. I put forth Churchill’s argument in a phone call to Douglas Brinkley, the historian of the US President. He dismissed them as overindulgence.
By the time he took office as prime minister in 1940, Churchill was already a war leader, a war hero, a scandal survivor, and a prolific writer. He was an imperialist rather than a pure believer in democracy.
“Infused with democracy and closely watched totalitarianism,” Brinkley said. “No one thought that Howell, a playwright, could become a great world leader, and he did.”
Both men led a wave of revolution in Eastern Europe in 1989.
He also pointed to Ronald ReaganJoe “was making movies with chimpanzees – ‘Bedtime for Bonzo’ – and he went on to preside over the fall of the Berlin Wall.”
Brinkley said – “Entertainers have an edge, because they are able to communicate with people in times of crisis. That’s what you need most,” although none of them had a Russian offensive on hand.
It’s like the lone keeper at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, George Washington at Valley Forge, or Davy Crockett at the Alamo, Brinkley said.
“It’s the stuff of true grit and courage, and I think Zelensky is going to go down in history as one of these democratic martyrs, you know, a martyr for democracy,” he said.
“He is hidden, surrounded by enemy forces and is able to communicate with the world in such a smart, charismatic, passionate and visceral way.”
According to some proponents, what made Zelensky so inspiring him—his courage—is what he must do less to lead now.
Florida Representative Mike Waltz, a Republican and a war veteran, told CNN on Sunday that Zelensky is “becoming the Churchill of the 21st century.” But he wants Ukraine’s leaders to be a little more careful.
“If you look at history, George Washington kept our revolution alive by being alive,” Waltz later said, “at this point, I want him to land and at this point, his mission is to live and continue To serve as a symbol of resistance.”