Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made US history this morning. He became the first world leader to address a joint session of Congress virtually. As the Post reported, he zoomed into Washington to plead for increased aid to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s genocidal invasion:
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Zelensky renewed his plea for air support to protect the skies over Ukraine and defend against Russia’s attacks during a virtual speech to U.S. lawmakers Wednesday, as suspected Russian munitions struck another apartment building in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, in an attack that has become part of a daily pattern.
‘Ukraine is grateful to the United States for its overwhelming support,’ Zelensky said. ‘I call on you to do more.’
Zelensky, wearing the drab green T-shirt he has been seen in since the beginning of the conflict, paused during his insistent, emotional address to play a video showing graphic scenes of civilian casualties caused by the Russian assault. In closing remarks appealing directly to President Biden, he called on him to ‘be the leader of the world.’ ‘Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace,’ he said.
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From day one of Russia’s invasion, it has been self-evident that Zelensky’s career in television was perfect training. Because this has enabled him to execute his duties as a war-time president on Zoom flawlessly.
Indeed, commentators across the political spectrum have reinforced the performative nature of his role with unbounded analogies and allusion to Winston Churchill. Never mind that he clearly confounded many with his riff on MLK’s most famous speech by repeating throughout his, “I have a need.”
Of course everyone should be standing in solidarity with the Ukrainians. We should also be standing in awe at the Churchillian way Zelensky is rallying them to bedevil Russian Pootzies aping German Nazis.
But Churchill could be forgiven for taking umbrage at the recency bias coloring coverage of Zelensky. After all, America never gave Churchill all he requested.
More to the point, Britain was fending off a Nazi blitzkrieg that makes the Pootzi one Ukraine is fending off look like a drive by shooting. Yet Churchill never accused America of being an accomplice or having blood on its hands.
The sycophantic politicians throwing President Biden and US generals under the bus to curry favor with Zelensky should remember this. Zelensky can plead for fighter jets (just for Russians to shoot down) and a no-fly zone (just to draw NATO into this war) until he’s blue in the face.
But Biden is right to heed the counsel of the same advisers who advised him all along about Putin’s intent to invade Ukraine. And let us not forget that this is the same Zelensky who – just 24 hours before Putin invaded – was ridiculing Biden’s warnings about Putin’s intent to invade his country as alarmist.
So I admonish you to be wary of the deification of Zelensky. Not least because the worldwide hosannas appear to be getting to his head. Nothing betrays this quite like him spending almost as much time during this morning’s address calling for an alternative (“U24”) alliance to NATO to intervene in future wars as he did pleading for help to fight this one.
And by the way, we all know he’s a man at war. But would it have been too much for Zelensky to shave and put on a jacket for the occasion, instead of addressing the US Congress in a friggin’ T-shirt?
That said, Russians ridiculed the way Americans left millions in armaments on the battlefield in Afghanistan for the Taliban. But at least the Taliban did not use those armaments to kill Americans.
Now reports are that Russians are leaving billions in armaments on the battlefield in Ukraine for the Ukrainians, which the Ukrainians are using to kill scores of Russians every day.
Words like karma and schadenfreude come to mind. But the Russians are clearly being served their just deserts.
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