The miracles of Zelenski
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has forged as a statesman a television actor who became president as a last-minute resort for Ukrainian citizens fed up with inefficiency and corruption. Volodimir Zelensky was a television personality like Italy's Pepe Grillo and the most paradigmatic of those who went on to become a recognised and valued US president, such as Ronald Reagan.
In media close to the Kremlin, it was taken for granted that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his advisors took it for granted that the start of the invasion of Ukraine would cause Zelenski to flee. Wrong. The comedian who had come to power in May 2019 on a platform called People's Servant has demonstrated his ability and stature to hold firm in power and stand up to the Russian giant with the support of NATO member states, led by the United States and the United Kingdom.
He has left behind the twisted and controversial trail of several obscure cases of a businessman like Petro Poroshenko who won the confidence of Ukrainians after the departure in February 2014 of the pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovich, following the Maidan Square revolution that was answered by Putin's annexation of Crimea and the war in the Donbas, Ukraine's pro-Russian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.
That moment was the origin of what we are suffering today and since then the contenders, with the Minsk agreements as a cover to keep the warlike confrontations low profile, have been preparing for a full-scale contest for control of Ukraine.
Zelensky himself has earned the respect of the international community and has secured the financial and arms support that has gradually reached the Ukrainian units, which have been properly trained and have more than enough motivation to offer resistance that was unthinkable at first, albeit at a high cost in human lives and material damage.
From anti-aircraft defences, missile systems, tanks and now F-16 fighter jets, the initiative and strategy of Zelenski and his internal and external team has managed to increase at every moment an indispensable aid for their survival with a clear message: "We are not only defending the freedom and democracy of Ukraine, but that of all of Europe".
His military attire, his daily messages in evening speeches, his online interventions in a multitude of parliaments and forums, his current travels with particular impact at the G-7 and the Arab Summit and tackling any corruption cases and his iron control of his government are the main keys to Zelenski's miracles, with their lights and shadows.