In 2022, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine intensified, broke out, and then fell into a continuous conflict that was difficult to extricate itself from.
Although his country is in turmoil, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy has stolen the limelight on the international stage - not only using remote video speeches to make various appearances and voices, but also receiving countless heavyweight guests from major Western countries in less than a year. For a time, he became a "hero" in the eyes of the Western media and the darling of the Western world. Under the spotlight of
, Zelensky gradually transformed from a president of a small country seeking help from everywhere to a arrogant person who guides the global situation, as if war and peace depend on his decision-making. However, in the last half of the year, Zelensky's "aura" failed somewhat - first he hit a hard nail, and then he finally let go of his airs in front of the United States.
"hard nail" comes from FIFA FIFA.
When the conflict between Russia and Ukraine first broke out, it was not long after the Beijing Winter Olympics. At that time, the Western-dominated international sports world rushed to issue various bans against Russia, which could be said to give Ukraine enough face. It was in this environment that FIFA announced in early March that it would ban the Russian football team from participating in all its events, including the Qatar World Cup.
Since there is such a situation, when the Qatar World Cup officially starts at the end of 2022, Zelensky thinks that FIFA is on the side of Ukraine, which is not a pretentious one. Taking advantage of the high-profile video speech he just completed at the G20 summit, Ukraine made a request to FIFA: to play a video of his speech before the Qatar World Cup finals.
Zelensky did not expect that FIFA, which had allowed international politics to interfere with sports events six months ago, would stick to its "principles" this time and refuse to let the much-anticipated World Cup finals become a public opinion propaganda venue for one side of the war. The Ukrainian Presidential Office was surprised and annoyed, and finally angrily bypassed FIFA and completed the speech and performance online.
After the World Cup, Zelensky, unwilling to be left alone, once again made headlines in the international media when he visited the United States.
Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Western politicians have visited Ukraine as frequently as a revolving door. Among them are top leaders of major European countries such as Britain's Johnson, France's Macron, and Germany's Scholz, as well as senior United Nations officials such as Guterres, and senior American politicians such as Pelosi who are eager to increase their presence.
2022 In this year, Ukraine may have hosted more leaders of Western powers than it did in the previous years combined. But Zelensky never expected the most important guest in his mind: US President Biden .
On the day the World Cup ended, White House officials let the US media know that due to "security concerns", US President Biden has no plans to visit Ukraine. Given that many Western leaders have completed their visits to Ukraine safely and smoothly on many occasions, Biden's "security" excuse is almost as absurd as his absence from his granddaughter's wedding.APEC.
The President of the United States in the city on a hill refused to come to Ukraine. The Jewish Ukrainian president had to draw wisdom from the Muslim Koran - "If the mountain doesn't come, I will go to the mountain." On December 21, Zelensky unexpectedly appeared in Washington, D.C., to meet with US President Biden. This also became Zelensky's first overseas visit since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The difference between "visiting" and "visiting abroad" lies in the face of the United States of America as a major country.
As the only superpower in the world today, the United States receives far more visits from foreign leaders every year than visits by the US president. American scholar Plischke E. once pointed out in his monograph "Summit Diplomacy": Looking back several decades since the 1980s, the United States' dominant position in world affairs has caused "the number of pilgrims coming to Washington to increase day by day."
Since the end of the Cold War , the trend of the United States claiming to be the "kingdom of heaven" and waiting for "all nations to come to Korea" has continued unabated.
Specific to Ukraine, the U.S. State Department Historical Office recorded 16 visits to the United States by successive Ukrainian presidents from 1992 to 2017. Counting Zelensky’s visit, the total has been 17 times. During this period, U.S. presidents visited Ukraine only 4 times, and the most recent one was in 2008 during the era of and George W. Bush.
Since the “color revolution” in Ukraine in 2014, the Ukrainian president has visited the United States six times. Correspondingly, from Obama to Trump and then to Biden, successive US presidents have refused to arrange even a mere "return visit". Today, Biden has proven with his actions that Ukraine, which seems to have greatly increased its international status during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, is still not worthy of the condescending visit of the US president.
Now Zelensky has put down his pretensions and visited the United States, letting the whole world see clearly - even though Zelensky's visit to the United States has attracted great attention from public opinion, in front of President Biden, he is still a cautious and laughing character. How can he be worthy of being the "teacher" of Americans?
Judging from the results, Zelensky’s visit is more like a poor relative coming to visit for help. The Biden administration is willing to provide additional assistance to a certain extent, but is obviously unwilling to satisfy Ukraine’s growing appetite.
In 2022, the Russia-Ukraine conflict will undoubtedly be the major event that attracts the most attention in the international community.
In this year, Ukraine, with strong support from the West, was at odds with Russia, a major military power. As a wartime president with a tough stance, it is reasonable for Zelensky to receive many courtesies on the international stage. However, as the war continues to drag on, European and American aid is increasingly exhausted, and Ukraine is unwilling to send a signal of de-escalation, it becomes increasingly difficult for Zelensky's tough attitude to resonate with Westerners.
At the end of this year, the halo of Zelensky and Ukraine faded, and the international status returned from "highlight" to "daily life", which is indeed reasonable.
