The Washington Post - USA (2022-03-02)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A

russia invades ukraine

BY EMILY RAUHALA

AND MICHAEL BIRNBAUM

brussels — Ukrainian Presi-
dent Volodymyr Zelensky deliv-
ered a desperate plea to the Euro-
pean Parliament on Tuesday, beg-
ging the bloc to “prove you are
with us” as Russia encircles major
cities.
But the European Union may
not offer him all the help he wants
at the speed he is demanding,
whether on E.U. membership or
military supplies.
Zelensky described dire scenes
playing out around him, includ-
ing the deadly shelling of Kharkiv
and the killing of children. “Now
we are fighting for survival,” he
said in a virtual address. “But we
are fighting also to be equal mem-
bers of Europe.”
He concluded: “We have prov-
en our strength. We have proven
that at a minimum, we are exactly
the same as you are. So, prove that
you are with us. Prove that you
will not let us go. Prove that you
indeed are Europeans. And then
life will win over. And light will
win over darkness.”
The speech was met with a
standing ovation from lawmak-
ers, a show of emotion from the
English-language interpreter,
and expressions of goodwill from
various European leaders.
Lawmakers passed a resolu-
tion on Tuesday calling for the
E.U. “to work toward granting the
country EU candidate status.”
And European Council President
Charles Michel said the day be-
fore that E.U. heads of govern-
ment — the ones who control
membership — would “seriously
look” at the request from Ukraine.
But countries are divided
about their readiness to open the
door.
At the same time, the E.U.'s
historic weekend announcement
that it would fund and facilitate
the sending of weapons and
equipment to Ukraine — a move
without precedent for the 27-na-
tion trade bloc — appeared to be
somewhat deflated on Tuesday,
after it turned out the E.U. foreign
policy chief had gone off script
when he promised fighter jets.
Both developments under-
scored Ukraine’s vulnerability, as
the world pledges support but
leaves Ukrainians to do the fight-
ing.
On Tuesday, Zelensky spoke
movingly of that isolation: “We
are fighting, just for our land,” he
said. “Despite the fact that all of
our cities are blocked, that no-
body is going to enter and inter-
vene.”

Fate of the fighter jets

E.U. foreign policy chief Josep
Borrell announced at a news con-
ference on Sunday that military
aircraft would be among the le-
thal aid paid for by a $555 million
E.U. military and humanitarian
fund approved by foreign minis-
ters that day. The idea is that
countries will be reimbursed for

the equipment they provide.

“We are going to supply arms

and even fighter jets,” Borrell

said. “We are not talking about

just ammunition. We are provid-

ing the most important arms to go

to war.”

But on Tuesday, it became clear

that E.U. countries are probably

not about to send fighter jets to

Ukraine.

The idea of jets was discussed

among E.U. foreign ministers on

Sunday, according to officials fa-

miliar with the exchanges, and

Borrell floated that Bulgaria, Slo-

vakia and Poland might contrib-

ute, since they have Russian-

made MiG-29s that are more

compatible than Western planes

with the Ukrainian military.

But nothing was finalized, ac-

cording to an E.U. diplomat who

spoke on the condition of ano-

nymity to describe private meet-

ings. And Borrell’s announce-

ment — which came in response

to a question about how the mate-

riel was going to get into Ukraine,

not in his prepared remarks —

was a surprise.

Bulgarian and Slovakian lead-

ers have since said they do not

plan to send fighter jets to

Ukraine right now. And Polish

President Andrzej Duda said on

Tuesday that his country also did

not intend to send jets to Ukraine,

though he appeared to leave a

touch of ambiguity about the pos-

sibility.

“We are not sending any jets to

Ukraine because that would open

a military interference in the

Ukrainian conflict. We are not

joining that conflict,” Duda told

reporters. “We are not going to

send any jets to the Ukrainian

airspace.”

It was not clear if he was inten-

tionally leaving open the possibil-

ity that the Ukrainians could pick

jets up in Poland or that aircraft

could be transported overland to

the Ukrainian border. Polish

Prime Minister Mateusz

Morawiecki made the rejection

more definitive later in the day.

Possibly playing into the reti-

cence: The countries that border

Ukraine, while wanting to be sup-

portive, are also concerned about

more direct confrontation with

Russia.

Most countries in Europe are

sending lethal aid. Germany

promised 1,000 antitank weap-

ons and 500 Stinger surface-to-

air missiles. Lithuania sent anti-

aircraft missiles. Belgium will

send 2,000 machine guns and

200 antitank weapons. The Neth-

erlands is sending 200 Stinger

missiles, antitank weapons and

radar systems. Tiny Luxembourg

is sending 100 antitank weapons

and 20,000 rounds of ammuni-

tion. Poland sent grenade launch-

ers, helmets, mortars and ammu-

nition and also has promised Jav-

elin missile systems and assault

rifles.

But Hungary said this week it

would not allow the transfer of

lethal weapons through its terri-

tory on the way to Ukraine.

“Such deliveries might become

targets of hostile military action,”

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto

said Monday in Kosovo. “We have

to ensure the security of Hungary

... that we are not getting in-
volved in that war.”

Push for E.U. membership

For years, Ukraine has aspired

to E.U. membership. And on Mon-

day, Zelensky submitted a formal

application, while asking for “im-

mediate accession under a new

special procedure.”

There is some momentum for

the idea of admitting Ukraine.

The presidents of eight central

and eastern European nations

signed a joint letter voicing their

support on Monday.

“We, the Presidents of the EU

member states: the Republic of

Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the

Republic of Estonia, the Republic

of Latvia, the Republic of Lithua-

nia, the Republic of Poland, the

Slovak Republic, and the Repub-

lic of Slovenia strongly believe

that Ukraine deserves receiving

an immediate EU accession per-

spective,” the letter said.

European Commission Presi-

dent Ursula von der Leyen said

Monday that Ukraine is “one of us

and we want them in the Euro-

pean Union.”

But while upbeat about the

prospects, European officials

have been noncommittal.

E.U. membership talks typical-

ly drag on for years. The sides

haggle over benchmarks and the

potential entrant brings its laws

and regulations into sync with

existing E.U. rules. The newest

member, Croatia, joined in 2013

after a decade of talks. Other

Western Balkan nations have ne-

gotiated for years, with little obvi-

ous progress. Fast-tracking

Ukraine by slicing through some

of the red tape could upset North

Macedonia, Albania and the oth-

ers.

More substantively, Ukraine

has struggled with corruption to

an extent that many E.U. coun-

tries have been wary of admitting

it. Its size and poverty make it an

awkward match. At 44 million

people, it would be the bloc’s

fifth-biggest country. But even

the poorest current E.U. member,

Bulgaria, is three times as

wealthy per capita — leading to a

yawning economic need that, un-

der E.U. funding rules, would pull

cash from every other country.

Some E.U. diplomats fear the

push for membership talks is a

distraction from Ukraine’s im-

mediate needs, especially since

not every country is on board.

“Membership is a long-stand-

ing request from Ukraine,” Mi-

chel said. “But there are different

opinions and sensitivities within

the E.U. on enlargement.”

Zelensky implores Europeans to ‘prove you are with us’

JONAS ROOSENS/BELGA/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

European Parliament members in Brussels respond with a standing ovation after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s video address. There is some momentum for the

idea of admitting Ukraine to the European Union. The presidents of eight central and eastern European nations signed a joint letter voicing their support on Monday.

BY BRYAN PIETSCH

Just a few years ago, Volod-
ymyr Zelensky was playing
Ukraine’s president on television.
Now he’s a real-life wartime lead-
er directing his outgunned coun-
try in its fight against the Russian
invasion.
Though Zelensky says he has
become the Kremlin’s “target No.
1,” he has earned the respect of
much of the Ukrainian public by
refusing to flee the capital. In-
stead he has walked the streets of
Kyiv and urged Ukrainians to
resist, while crafting a successful
communications strategy that
has won the hearts and minds of
European leaders and voters.
While acknowledging that
Moscow has vastly superior forc-
es it has not yet deployed, West-
ern officials say Zelensky’s leader-
ship has firmed up Ukrainian
resolve.
H ere’s what you need to know
about the president.

Who is Volodymyr Zelensky?

Zelensky, 44, is a former co-
median, television personality
and actor — and now Ukraine’s
head of state. He was born in the
city of Kryvyi Rih in central
Ukraine and raised in an “ordi-
nary Soviet Jewish family,” he has
said.
Russian President Vladimir
Putin has attempted to justify his
invasion of Ukraine as a “denazi-
fication” operation, but Zelensky
is Jewish and many of his rela-
tives were killed by Nazis during
the Holocaust. His grandfather
was the only one of four brothers
to survive the German occupa-
tion of Ukraine.

How long has Zelensky been

president of Ukraine?

Zelensky was elected president

on April 21, 2019, and sworn in

about a month later. He first

gained broad attention in the

United States after President

Donald Trump involved him in

what would later become the first

of Trump’s two impeachments.

After Zelensky’s inauguration,

Trump administration officials

had dangled the possibility of an

Oval Office meeting between

Trump and Zelensky on the con-

dition that Ukraine launch a cor-

ruption investigation into Hunter

Biden, the son of political rival

Joe Biden, then a presidential

candidate.

In a July 25, 2019, phone call,

Trump told Zelensky: “I would

like you to do us a favor.” The

request became a memorable

quote in Trump’s impeachment

trial.

Days before the phone call,

Trump had ordered nearly

$400 million in military aid for

Ukraine to be withheld. The

funds were released almost two

months later.

Which TV shows and movies

did Zelensky appear in?

Before running for president,

Zelensky was a popular face in

Ukrainian entertainment. He

hosted a comedy show, “Liga

Smeha” (“League of Laughter”),

and won Ukraine’s “Dancing

With the Stars” in 2006. He also

voiced the titular cartoon bear in

the Ukrainian version of “Pad-

dington.”

Zelensky also helped create the

multimillion-dollar production

company Studio Kvartal 95.

Arguably his most consequen-

tial acting role was on the show

“Servant of the People” as Vasyl

Holoborodko, a teacher whose

impassioned speech about cor-

ruption in Ukrainian politics goes

viral, catapulting him to the pres-

idency.

Then TV became reality: With

the country’s deeply entrenched

corruption a key theme in the

2019 election, Zelensky decided

to make a real-life run for the top

office.

“People want to see a president

like [Vasyl Holoborodko], with

the same moral values,” Zelensky

said before the election. “They’re

fed up with the establishment.

People want something new.”

What are Zelensky’s political

views, including on Putin and

Russia?

Zelensky has overseen the

name changes of Soviet-era mon-

uments and street names to hon-

or Ukrainian heroes.

And while he has become a

hero of sorts to the Ukrainian

public in the days since the Rus-

sian invasion began, his populari-

ty as president had appeared to be

waning. He had been criticized

for not pushing anti-corruption

reforms, as he had touted during

his campaign, and some Ukraini-

ans thought he was too weak and

compromising with Putin.

Before he was elected, he said

in an interview with Vice News

that he wanted to end the conflict

in the eastern Donbas region,

“because we don’t want our peo-

ple to perish anymore.” The con-

flict in Donbas, where Russian-

backed separatists have been bat-

tling with the Ukrainian govern-

ment, played a key role in the

Russian invasion. Days before in-

vading, Putin formally recog-

nized the independence of two

separatist areas in the region,

where he has baselessly claimed

that a “genocide” against Russian

speakers was taking place. (Zel-

ensky also speaks Russian.)

Where are Zelensky and his

family?

Although Zelensky has claimed

that Moscow is targeting him for

assassination to “destroy Ukraine

politically by destroying the head

of state,” he has not backed down.

In the days since the invasion

began, he has walked the capital’s

streets, filming himself in videos

urging the Ukrainian people to

resist the Russian invasion. His

calls appear to be working, with

the United States and Britain

reporting that Moscow is facing

stronger resistance in Ukraine

than it had anticipated.

Zelensky’s family is Russia’s

“target No. 2,” he has said. In a

meeting with CIA Director Wil-

liam J. Burns in January, Zelensky

asked whether he or his family

were in danger amid growing

concerns of Russian aggression.

He was initially skeptical that the

Russians would try to kill him.

For security reasons, he has not

disclosed the location of his fam-

ily — his wife and two children —

though they are believed to be

near him. “My children are look-

ing at me, I will be next to them

and next to my husband and with

you,” first lady Olena Zelenska

wrote on Instagram last week.

H ow a t elevision star transformed into t he wartime president of Ukraine

PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

President Volodymyr Zelensky, center, met with soldiers on Feb. 17 before Russia invaded Ukraine. He

previously hosted a comedy show, voiced a cartoon bear and played a fictional Ukrainian president.