It was masterful. Presented before Congress, and not in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s mother tongue, it was delivered after he first made a perilous front-line visit to the defenders of besieged Bakhmut, followed by a trans-Atlantic flight. In Washington, Ukraine’s Moses then gave his sermon on the Capital mount. His speech will go down in history, recalled less for eloquence than for what it invoked, as Zelenskyy channelled the spirit of Winston Churchill, another wartime leader who came-a-calling in December 1941, asking for America’s support for embattled Britain against the Nazis. In the very same spot, 81 years later, Zelenskyy urged the U.S.A. to do the same thing for Ukraine, only this time against a revanchist Russian fascism.
Overall, Zelenskyy’s message was one of deep gratitude. Several times he emphasized how his people thank America for standing with Ukraine against Vladimir Putin’s imperial project and genocidal agenda.
His timing was perfect. He arrived at Christmas with the perfect gift for the U.S. Congress, a battlefield flag from the eastern front. And he explicitly gave thanks to all Americans — Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike, while ignoring the infantiles who made a point of not standing to applaud his words, although the majority in Congress did, and more than once. Untroubled, Zelenskyy reached out to the good people of America, underscoring their country’s fundamental role in sustaining Ukraine’s fight for freedom. As he did so Zelenskyy also reminded everyone that Ukraine did not start this war, that all Ukrainians want is to be able to chart their country’s course without the interference of a bullying neighbour. They will fight until all the lands Russia stole after 2014 are recovered, including Crimea.
Read more: nationalpost.com
