Putin's Strategic Mistakes Are Making Zelenskiy a War Hero
Who would have thought that the Russian strongman would meet his match in a former TV comedian?
No joke.
Photographer: Matt Dunham/Getty Images
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine’s president, was supposed to be a pushover for Russia’s ruthless leader, Vladimir Putin. The Russians felt they could bend the neophyte politician to their will, demanding concessions on Ukraine’s freedom to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, its relationship with the European Union, and the nation’s trade priorities.
But it turns out that the former TV comedian is the one truly standing up for his nation — and leading an intense resistance to an overwhelming Russian invasion force. So often, conflicts see new leaders take charge. Such was the case for the Union army in the U.S. Civil War, where President Abraham Lincoln had to go through a variety of parade-ground generals until he found Ulysses S. Grant. During World War II, the peacetime officers gave way to wartime leaders like General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Admiral Chester Nimitz.