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world news Diamars 8 maart 2022

A modern Churchill? Zelenskyy praised as war communicator

(AP) - To a watching seek compromise with Mos- pray that Zelenskyy is still deaths if they didn’t enforce a ily all have the same impact,
world, his message is this, cow. alive.” no-fly Zone over Ukraine. she notes. Saying “Don’t
in both his words and let them exterminate us” is
his resolute, sometimes That, Polsky says, has cre- Some of Zelenskyy’s appear- Through those messages, a more effective frame, she
haggard appearance: He ated “a reciprocal relation- ances seem designed to de- he’s not just speaking to says, than “calling a NATO
stands as a mirror to the ship between Zelenskyy and liver that simple assurance. NATO leaders, but directly summit weak and confused.”
suffering and spirit of his the Ukrainian people. I think Shortly after Russia invad- to the citizens who may put
people. they have gotten energy from ed, he was seen in what ap- pressure on them to do more, Jamieson says TV networks
each other and confidence peared to be mobile phone says Kenneth Osgood, pro- have magnified the power
It appears to be getting from each other. That’s an video from a darkened street fessor of history at the Colo- of Zelenskyy’s appeals with
through. Just days into the impressive communications in Kyiv, four grim-faced col- rado School of Mines and an potent visuals, “overlaying
war engulfing his nation, accomplishment for a lead- leagues standing behind him. expert on propaganda and in- evocative images of dam-
Ukrainian President Volody- er, to be that much in touch Zelenskyy’s insistence on telligence. aged buildings, fleeing moth-
myr Zelenskyy is drawing with his people in the middle staying, along with his wife ers and children, menacing
historical comparisons as an of a crisis.” and children, was a turning Zelenskyy’s pleas remind one Russian tanks, empty store
effective and stirring wartime point, says Orysia Lutsevych, analyst of Benjamin Frank- shelves and the like.” What’s
communicator — yet with a Winston Churchill, who ral- a research fellow and man- lin’s trip to France in 1776 more, she says, the specter
distinctly modern touch in- lied Britons during World ager of the Ukraine Forum to elicit French support for of his demise always looms:
flected by the sensibilities of War II’s darkest days, is a in the Russia and Eurasia the American Revolution — “His increasingly unshaven
live television and the per- name frequently invoked Program at Chatham House, a trip that ultimately proved look, the flak jacket when in
sonal feel of social media. — even by Churchill’s bi- a London-based think tank. pivotal to history. public and the repeated re-
ographer. One analyst com- “People saw he had courage,” minders to world leaders that
His baby-faced complex- pared Zelenskyy to Benjamin she says. “The British had military this may be the last time they
ion is now usually puffy and Franklin and his success in superiority,” says Kathleen see him alive add immediacy
pasty, with a faint growth of soliciting French support for Meanwhile, Russian Presi- Hall Jamieson, a specialist in to his appeals.”
beard. Suits and dress shirts the American Revolution. dent Vladimir Putin has ap- political communication and
have been replaced by olive peared detached and distant, director of the Annenberg That same message — it
military-style garb. His raspy Through interviews and ap- speaking to aides via video- Public Policy Center at the might be the last time they
voice betrays exhaustion. pearances via video link from conference or the end of an University of Pennsylvania. see him alive — was deliv-
Together, these help form a hidden locations, Zelenskyy almost absurdly elongated “Had France not joined the ered to members of the U.S.
narrative of personal cour- has sought to rally the world table, with speeches that Pol- war in 1778, the outcome Congress via Zoom over the
age, of David fighting mighty to Ukraine’s side. When he sky says display a self-created may have been different.” weekend.
Goliath and refusing safe pas- told the European Parliament sense of history.
sage out of his homeland — “we’re fighting just for our The Ukrainian leader’s per- U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of
embodied by his line that he land and for our freedom,” The Ukraine president’s sona, message and delivery Illinois told ABC News that
needed “ammunition, not a the translator struggled not words have projected a mix- are mutually reinforcing, Ja- he took notes when Zelen-
ride.” to cry. ture of defiance and an es- mieson says. “His delivery skyy talked. “Calm,” heroic”
calating desperation, and he straight to camera in closeup and “unprecedented” were
It’s all quite a development Speaking the other day at seems unafraid of alienating is effective social media — among the words he wrote.
for a former TV actor and co- a San Francisco fundraiser, those whose help he might unscripted, clear, straight- “I don’t think you can sit
median who weeks ago was U.S. first lady Jill Biden said need. For example, he told forward and brimming with there with human emotions
disdained in some corners as that “I just have to turn on NATO officials they would resolve.” and not be moved, not be
a political novice too eager to the TV every morning and bear responsibility for civilian His messages don’t necessar- motivated,” Quigley said.

US assures nervous Baltics of NATO protection against Russia

(AP) — U.S. Secretary of State it relates to former Soviet bloc coun- Lithuania’s Nauseda said a policy of energy. “We cannot pay for oil and gas
Antony Blinken on Monday as- tries that are now allied or otherwise deterrence was no longer enough with Ukrainian blood,” he said.
sured Lithuania and Latvia of linked to the West. and that “forward defense” was now
NATO protection and American needed. He predicted that “Putin will Lithuania is also dealing with pres-
support as he made quick visits to Rinkevics said that the Russian inva- not stop in Ukraine if he will not be sure from another large power —
two of the three Baltic states that sion of Ukraine had shown the Bal- stopped.” China — for its relationship with
are increasingly on edge as Russia tic countries in particular the need to Taiwan, the island China regards as a
presses ahead with its invasion of bolster air and coastal defenses and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabri- renegade province. China has taken
Ukraine. that Latvia would like its security co- elius Landsbergis called for a surge actions, including halting imports of
operation with NATO to be “more in assistance to Ukraine, noting that certain products, against Lithuania
Along with Estonia, which Blinken efficient.” the NATO allies “are doing a lot, but for allowing Taiwan to open a de facto
will visit on Tuesday, the former So- we cannot stop.” He also called for an embassy in Vilnius.
viet republics are NATO members, Memories of Soviet rule are still fresh immediate halt to imports of Russian
and the Biden administration is aim- in the Baltics and since the invasion
ing to calm any fears they have about of Ukraine last month, NATO has
their security in the event Russia moved quickly to boost its troop
chooses to expand its military opera- presence in its eastern flank allies
tions. while the U.S. has pledged additional
support.
In the Latvian capital of Riga, Blinken
said the Baltics have “formed a demo- Blinken’s opened his Baltic tour in
cratic wall that now stands against the Vilnius, where Lithuanian support
tide of autocracy” that Russia is push- for Ukraine’s resistance to the Rus-
ing in Europe. “The United States is sian invasion was palpable as signs of
more committed than ever to stand- solidarity with Ukrainians are evident
ing with you as our democracies rise in many businesses and on houses,
to the challenge,” he said. public buildings and buses. He later
traveled to Riga, which has been sim-
Leaders in both countries expressed ilarly festooned with blue and yellow
grave concerns about Russian Presi- Ukrainian flags.
dent Vladimir Putin’s intentions as