In Defense of Zelensky

Photo by Glib Albovsky on Unsplash

Volodymyr Zelensky was once an outlandish Jewish comedian, seemingly more suited to parodying the President of Ukraine than being the President of Ukraine. Over the past three years, he has proven himself brave and tough—and, just as important, realistic and foresighted.

The bravery he showed in not fleeing Ukraine in 2022 speaks for itself. Just as important, he has demonstrated an understanding of Ukraine's geopolitical positioning between East and West—and how to survive as a nation in this danger zone.

In the Russian mind, Ukraine isn’t just some nearby country. It is a borderland. It is the entrance ramp for a highway that a European Army would take to march into the Eurasian Steppes and deliver a knock-out blow to all of Russia. This, Germany almost accomplished by winning the first Battle of Kiev in 1941. The Russian sphere is simply not viable without its western flank.

Not surprisingly, Ukraine's independence referendum on December 1, 1991, quickly sparked the collapse of the Soviet Union on Christmas Day of that year. Russia went from being an empire to being a country. A Ukraine united with NATO or economically integrated with Europe would make the situation all the more dire for Moscow. And this has been the view of every Russian premier, from Putin to Yeltsin to Gorbachev.

Put simply, Russia desperately wants control of Ukraine. And its geographic positioning is more important than its cultural identity as "Little Russia." The absurdity of the Minsk agreements (beginning in 2014) was that ceasefires and disarmaments were agreed upon without outside security guarantees of Ukraine’s integrity and independence. This perpetuated a state of ambiguity and simply delayed the full-scale invasion, which finally occurred in February 2022 .

Ukraine's status will resolve, one way or the other, in an "on/off" or "all or nothing" binary. Either it is subordinated to Russia or it can exist as a semi-independent nation as part of NATO and the West. Thus, negotiations with Washington or Brussels makes no sense whatsoever without security guarantees. Otherwise, working with America, getting funded by America, giving over natural resources to America is simply delaying Russification for another day.

Zelensky is thus right to stand on this point—no matter how much shrill whining this elicits from JD Vance. If Washington refuses to offer a security guarantee, then Zelensky must move in a different direction. There is no compromise on this matter. It is the limiting factor of any sort of alliance with the West.

Zelensky had a brilliant Opening: he stood his ground. With materiel and morale-boosting from the West, he fought the Middle Game to a virtual standstill. Now, we are entering the End Game, the resolution. Ukraine’s ultimate status—East or West—is in the balance.

The fact that Donald Trump seems to want to leave Ukraine to the wolves, to abandon the establishment of a Western sphere on the European continent, is depressing beyond words … and suggests we might be witnessing the end of the American Century.

Regardless, it remains remarkable that Zelensky was and is able to grasp his country’s situation realistically. He has never given in to an unsatisfactory solution in order to save his skin.

Zelensky is a hero. He is a statesman and geopolitician. And as leader, he is Ukraine's best chance to gain independence.

And if the comic take the stage

And no one laughs

Does a dance on his own grave

For a photograph

This is not a curtain call

This is the greatest act of all.