CONFRONTATION IN UKRAINE: VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY CHALLENGES VLADIMIR PUTIN
“The fighting is here, I want ammunition, a trick,” the former diplomat said in a video posted Saturday on Twitter after rejecting a U. S. offer to evacuate the Ukrainian capital.
Zelenskyy said Saturday that fighting continues in many parts of Ukraine, but citizens are protecting their “county, land” and “future” for their children.
“Zelensky’s symbol is positive for both Ukraine and the rest of the world,” Rebekah Koffler, a former Russian-born DIA intelligence officer with “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America,” told Fox News Digital. he as a warlord who is not afraid, is not afraid of anything, remains with his other people, and is in a position to fight even with the threat of his own life. “
Meanwhile, his Twitter account is filled with all the updates on his various calls with world leaders as he seeks to unite for his beleaguered nation.
“Zelensky is doing what a president deserves to be doing, he’s engaging with the world, he’s receiving from NATO members and non-NATO members,” Dan Hoffman, a senior officer retired from the CIA’s clandestine facilities, told Fox News Digital.
“He understands how to provide for himself and how to make a concise and really vital strategy for the world,” he said.
This stands in stark contrast to Putin, who has generally remained out of sight. The Kremlin has released a handful of photographs of the 69-year-old president in recent days, adding his own to the site of the National Space Center’s structure, but even the images are radically different from the more kinetic shots of his Ukrainian rival.
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Hoffman said it was “humiliating” for Putin that Zelenskyy “kicked him on the leadership front. “
“It’s delicious to me. If you look for a positive side in the dark clouds of war, enjoy Zelenskyy, the most unlikely guy in the most unlikely cases, not Winston Churchill, he didn’t grow up doing that, but in the most complicated moments in the history of his country here, he takes a step forward,” he said.
Koffler said Putin wasn’t necessarily hiding, but he probably still wasn’t satisfied with the scenario on the ground. He said the contrast with Zelenskyy could end up provoking a reaction from Putin, though it’s unlikely to be a similar competition. .
“He hates Zelenskyy and thinks he’s below him to compete with him,” he said. it takes a picture of him authorizing something like this for propaganda purposes. But it will put a more threatening connotation on this appearance. “
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But Koffler believes that the fact that Zelenskyy remains and becomes a foreign rallying point has damaged Putin’s plans. He also noted Putin’s fondness for judo and how he said it helped him see the weaknesses of his warring parties; however, in this case, it may have been he whose stance he interrupted.
“The fact that he has overcome through Zelensky’s stance may have thrown Putin off balance,” he said.
Audrey Conklin of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Adam Shaw is a political reporter for Fox News Digital, specializing in immigration. He can be reached at adam. shaw2@fox. com or on Twitter: @AdamShawNY