The Economist - UK (2022-04-02)

TheEconomistApril2nd 2022 15

BriefingThe war in Ukraine

H

e never wanteda war and he did not

prepare his country for one. He may

quote Winston Churchill, but he is no

Churchill. He wears khaki but he is leaving

the battle-plans to Ukraine’s generals.

“[The] people are leaders,” declares Volody-

myr Zelensky.

Speaking to The Economistin a govern-

ment building fortified with sandbags and

surrounded with tank traps, Mr Zelensky is

disarmingly authentic and humane. So

great is the real-life tragedy that has befall-

en his nation that there is no room for act-

ing. He talks of Ukraine’s need for weap-

ons, of his views of President Joe Biden and

his other Western backers, of what victory

would mean. But Mr Zelensky speaks most

powerfully about the inhumanity of the

Russian commanders ranged against him.

“The invaders do not even mourn their

own casualties,” he says. “This is some-

thing I do not understand. Some 15,

[Russian soldiers] have been killed in one

month...[Vladimir Putin] is throwing Rus-

sian soldiers like logs into a train’s furnace.

And, they are not even burying them...

Theircorpsesareleftinthestreets.Insev-

eralcities,smallcities,oursoldierssayit’s

impossible to breathe because of the...-

stenchofrottingflesh.”

MrZelenskycomparesthepitilessness

ofMrPutin’swarmachinewiththecom-

passionofthesoldiersandvolunteersde-

fendingUkrainiancities.“Ourfearlesssol-

diersare defendingMariupolnow...They

couldhavelefta longtimeago,buttheyare

notleavingthecity.”After 31 daysofbom-

bardmentandsiege,theyarestillfight-

ing—notbecauseMrZelenskyorderedit,

butbecausethey“saytheymuststayand

burythosekilledinactionandsavethe

livesofthosewounded...[And]longaspeo-

plearestillalive,wemustcontinuetopro-

tectthem.Andthisisthefundamentaldif-

ference between the way the opposing

sidesinthiswarseetheworld.”

MrPutinandMrZelenskyarebothna-

tiveRussian-speakers,buttheytalka dif-

ferentlanguageofpower.MrPutin’sworld,

wherelifeischeapandhistorybelongsto

greatmen,hasnoplaceforpityandno

roomforUkraine.“Idon’tthinkhevisual-

isesinhisownmindthesameUkrainewe

see,”MrZelenskysays.“HeseesUkraineas

a partofhisworld,hisworldview,butthat

doesn’tcorrespondwithwhat’shappened

overthelast 30 years.I don’tthinkPutin

hasbeen[in]a bunkerfortwoweeksorsix

months, but for more like two decades.”

To Mr Putin, strength means violence.

Anyone too squeamish to shed blood is

weak. That explains why the Russian army

is using the same methods in occupied ter-

ritory that it used in the Donbas region of

eastern Ukraine that Russia invaded using

proxy militias in 2014. “They are kidnap-

ping the mayors of our cities,” Mr Zelensky

says. “They killed some of them. Some of

KYIV

Ukraine’s president tells The EconomistwhyVladimirPutinmustbedefeated

Confidence from thebunker

→ Interview in Kyiv

For a video and transcript of our

interview with Volodymyr Zelensky, as

well as all our latest Ukraine coverage,

please visit:

http://www.economist.com/ukraine-crisis