On December 6, Zelensky appeared in Donbass . He congratulated the frontline soldiers on Ukrainian Armed Forces Day, condolences to the officers and soldiers on the Donbas frontline, and awarded them medals.
He said to the soldiers on the front line: "I am proud of every branch of the Ukrainian armed forces, and I express my gratitude to the parents who raised real heroes, wives, husbands and children who are waiting for the defenders. Your courage, your endurance, your will, we are free for this, your invincible, and we are independent for this!"
This is not the first time Zelensky has rushed to the front line. As the 44-year-old young president, before the war began, he was suggested to leave Kiev by European and American countries to establish an exiled government in Europe to make a comeback. At the outbreak of the war, he led his soldiers to hold on to Kiev and finally defended the territory.
On December 5, Zelensky was selected as the 2022 Person of the Year by the Financial Times. On December 7, Time magazine named Zelensky and the "Ukrainian Spirit" as the magazine's 2022 Storm of the Year to recognize the spirit Ukraine showed in the face of Russian invasion.
Time magazine pointed out that after Russia's full invasion of Ukraine in February this year, Zelensky led his country to an anti-invasion war. Zelensky's success as a wartime leader relies on the fact that courage is contagious.
What is certain is that no matter what the final result of this war is, Zelensky will become a national hero and will be recorded in history textbooks in a totem-like image.
In contrast, Russia's internal friction continues. There is no unified opinion among the top leaders, and the caliber of the diplomatic spokesperson changes at any time. The first second is a tough guy, but the next second is a kitten that wags his tail and begs for mercy. Sometimes he will suddenly try to make a smart move. As a great country, this kind of diplomatic performance is really embarrassing.
Now Russia has not put down the burden of "the second in the world" and is still holding high the banner of "just invasion" to attack Ukraine. If Russia takes Ukraine in the form of blitzkrieg , it will be the justice side. As long as it can survive the sanctions of the United Nations and Europe and the United States, Ukraine's land will belong to you. This idea of "being and standing" has caused Russia to be criticized in the public opinion field.
The disadvantages in the public opinion are not the most serious. The Russian army is currently facing a dilemma of changing the nature of the war. The purpose of sending troops to Ukraine was to occupy their land and use war to realize their expansion ambitions. Now that the Russian army is retreating step by step, trenches have begun to be dug in certain border areas.
What does it mean to dig trenches on your own border? It is to prevent invasion of other countries. The Russian army's move is to stop the Ukrainian army from counterattacking and prevent the war from burning to its own land. Moscow 's location is not far from the border. At the current marching speed, it only takes a short time to push from the border to Moscow.
Germany was previously preparing to increase military expenditure to 2% of GDP in order to deal with the threat that Ukraine may face after its own territory is lost. Now that Germany has cancelled this plan, Europe is optimistic about Ukraine's victory, and they are willing to continue to provide assistance to Ukraine.
Europe enjoys the security dividend brought by Ukraine. Once Ukraine is lost, the economic price they pay is far higher than the assistance currently provided, and this account can still be calculated thoroughly.
Ukraine needs to increase its trading conditions, and it must meet the four conditions of withdrawing troops, reparations, accountability, and voluntarily handing over nuclear weapons . For Russia, this is an "unequal treaty". If Russia eventually enters a defensive state, who will be Russia's "Li Hongzhang"?
