Volodymyr Zelensky
The Commander
Decision under pressure, front of house, leads visibly from the front.
Volodymyr Zelensky reads as The Commander because in February 2022 he converted personal courage into collective mobilisation with extraordinary speed. By refusing evacuation and filming himself on the streets of Kyiv, he gave Ukrainian citizens and Western governments a focal point precise enough to organise around.
“Is it not proof of impunity and contempt for international law? Moreover, the Russian Federation itself has announced it officially. And it forces Ukrainian citizens to take part in Russian parliamentary elections.”
UN General Assembly24 September 2021
“In early September, Nariman Dzhelyalov, the First Deputy Head of the Crimean Tatars’ Mejlis, was illegally detained in Crimea. The Russian Federation accused a political scientist, prominent journalist, television presenter and professor of law and history of attempting to blow up a section of a gas pipeline.”
UN General Assembly24 September 2021
“Do we need to revitalize the United Nations? Could it be that the United Nations should get moving to deal with this, to become faster and more mobile? Could it be time for us to meet in places where we can really hear and see these global problems?”
UN General Assembly24 September 2021
“Let us get it done, as people, as nations, as the United Nations — as those who have made their choice. Either their actions will be filled with meaning or their seats will be empty. That is the price of our choice.”
UN General Assembly24 September 2021
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