The Ukrainian President could not realise that he was merely a pawn — though a much glorified one — in the larger Russia versus the West battle. And like all pawns, he was there just for making sacrifices at an opportune time
The fate of Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Oval Office on Friday, February 28, 2025, reminds us of the title of a Gabriel García Márquez novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold. For, anybody with a sense of history, and also a bit of geo-strategy, would have realised that sooner than later the Ukrainian President was going to tread the path to perdition. His was the case of a disaster foretold. Sadly, the Ukrainian President could not realise that he was merely a pawn — though a much glorified one — in the larger Russia versus the West battle. And like all pawns, he was there just for making sacrifices at an opportune time. The Oval Office saga exemplified this stark reality.
What one saw at the Oval Office wasn’t regular stuff. Differences do happen on the diplomatic front, but rarely are dirty linen washed in public. It all began when the Ukrainian President tried giving history lessons to Trump and Vance, especially the latter, explaining how the US Vice President had little understanding of Vladimir Putin’s Russia. This was followed by Vance accusing Zelenskyy of being “disrespectful” and also trying “to litigate in front of the American media”. He asked the Ukrainian President to be thankful to Donald Trump for “trying to bring an end to the war”.
Zelenskyy did no good to his cause, and of course his country, when he mocked Vance for talking about “Ukraine’s problems” without ever visiting it once. He might have scored a point or two on the political front, especially in his Ukrainian constituency, but it was a diplomatic hara kiri of sorts. Zelenskyy should have known that he was in America for a deal — a deal which his country needed the most. And a seeker of a deal doesn’t resort to giving history lessons, more so to his patrons.
It was then that Trump lost his cool. While accusing Zelenskyy of “gambling with World War III”, he said: “Don’t tell us what we’re gonna feel. You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel … You’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position … You don’t have the cards right now with us.”
Interestingly, Zelenskyy was heard murmuring, in response: “I don’t play cards!”
Content retrieved from: https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/chronicle-of-a-disaster-foretold-how-zelenskyy-has-led-ukraine-down-the-path-to-perdition-13868885.html.
