“You probably won’t see me alive anymore.” The United States plans to help him get to safety

“The President at War” is a former comedian whose only political experience, before jumping into the competition and riding his television popularity with being elected by 73 percent of Ukrainians, was embodied in one of his most successful sketches… The President ofUkraine. And now, the irony of history has turned him into the best explainer of Ukrainian nationalism, into a national hero. army Kiev He resists, slowing down the invasion of the Russian army, advancing towards the capital from the north and east, but his boss is no less. The “Washington Post” newspaper, quoting American and Ukrainian sources, revealed that the United States is ready to help him and bring him back to safety, perhaps with a lightning move. But Zelensky So far he would refuse.

And the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, amazed at the president’s “cold-blooded, mastery of words and manner of addressing his people,” also promises to do everything for his own safety. Safely in Paris? Zelensky needs to survive. Here he is, in the yellowish light of a mobile phone, in a short dramatic self-portrait taped in the open air, under the sky of the besieged capital, in front of his palace, surrounded by close associates, from prime minister to prime minister.

the message

He, Volodymyr Zelensky, is not afraid of anything, did not run away, and remains in his place. He grinds his teeth, sure, and can’t contain the adrenaline when he declares that he won’t give up, because he knows full well that his life is in danger and that he’s no longer the Zelensky he was before, but the one who should play a key role in the hero. “We are all here.” He points with his hand to the top executive behind him, huddled in the frame to show himself present and unified. Goal. Everyone knows that he risks his own skin. “Here are our soldiers, our compatriots, our community, we are all here – says Zelensky – to defend our independence, our state. Glory to our soldiers and soldiers. Glory to Ukraine. He knows, today’s former chief actor at war, that his audience is the world. He impersonates a nation. Playing his last cards, he is ready to “talk about a ceasefire and peace” with Putin. But he suggests meeting him in Warsaw and not in Minsk.

Analysis

The New York Times quoted Ukrainian analyst Maria Zulkina as saying that Zelensky was not born a hero. He did not choose to fight and he is not a wartime president. But since the turn of the Russian offensive has become clear to his intelligence, he behaves just as the president should act in the regime of war. ” The words preserved in the American media differ from Zelensky himself a short time ago: “Three years later, it is now clear that the problem lies in him, his tendency to treat everything as a show. For him, gestures are more important than consequences. Strategic objectives are sacrificed for the sake of short-term benefits. The words he uses are meant to be entertaining. And if the results are not enough, he stops listening and surrounds himself with the masses.” but not. Today, Zelensky is the camouflaged, missile-defying president known to be the target of Russian leatherheads. It is the leader who said last night, in a video conference with other Western leaders, “It may be the last time you see me alive.”

Italia

Mario Draghi, in his briefing to Parliament yesterday, had a rare moment of emotion, when he stated that he had a 9:30 phone appointment with Zelensky, but that the president for that hour was “no longer available”. This is the cold language of Mario Draghi. But what expresses his bewilderment, more than words, is the reluctance that makes him stop and look at the sphere of blood, implying that Zelensky was involved in the war. Possibly life threatening. Draghi praises their “determination to resist”. Two hours later, the Ukrainian leader wrote on Twitter, “Next time I will try to change the war agenda to speak with Mario Draghi at a specific time. This morning at 10.30 at the entrances to Chernihiv, Hostomil and Melitopol there was a fierce fight. people died. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to struggle for its people.” Diplomatic accident? In the evening, Rome and Kiev make it clear that it was a “misunderstanding”, there would be a phone call. Perhaps it was the nervousness of the moment, the excitement of the war, that provoked the “qui pro quo”.