JAKARTA - The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, is currently facing serious problems regarding his country's tensions with a much bigger and stronger neighbor, Russia. The heated dispute over the Crimean Peninsula since 2013 is the root cause of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the feud has dragged on the United States and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies.
On Friday, January 28, 2022, United States President Joe Biden stated that the Pentagon will send a small number of troops in Eastern Europe in the near future, to confirm NATO's presence in the region. Biden did not explain in detail where the said troops numbering 8500 personnel would be stationed.
There is a strong suspicion that the deployment of US troops that Biden mentioned will be stationed in Ukraine.
While Russian President Vladimir Putin showed anger by accusing the United States and its NATO allies of deliberately inciting war, Zelensky was calm. He invited the Ukrainian people to sleep soundly, without being haunted by the fear of war.
"It is clear now that Russia's fundamental concerns are being ignored," President Putin said at a press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban who visited Russia on February 2.
Putin is very worried that if Ukraine joins NATO, the country of 41.3 million people will gain new power to fight their former ruler during the Soviet Union. Even in Putin's eyes it is not impossible if Ukraine is assisted by NATO to launch an attack first.
“Let's imagine that Ukraine is a member of NATO and is about to start a military operation. So, do we have to go to war with the NATO bloc? Has anyone thought of this? Apparently not," said Putin again.
Putin deployed 100,000 Russian troops to stand guard on the border with Ukraine. But facing the muzzle of a weapon aimed at the territory of his country, Zelensky actually did not budge. He did not see the massive deployment of Russian troops as a threat to Ukraine.
“Many figures in Ukraine say that tomorrow there will be war. This is a panic, and it is of no use even to the detriment of Ukraine. For me, the biggest threat to Ukraine is the instability of the situation at home,” Zelensky said.
Criticizing Diplomats
Zelensky also alleged that the media were simply exaggerating the problem, thereby causing panic in Ukrainian society.
“I did see 100,000 Russian soldiers there. But to me they only intend to torture for pleasure, like sadomasochists. They like to see Ukraine sweating and scared, so they think we are preparing for war," Zelensky was quoted as saying by the BBC on January 30, 2022.
Zelensky said that Ukraine had been used to living under Russian threats for years, even before the Crimean peninsula crisis. The world views that this crisis is one of the most serious, and even has the potential to trigger World War III, but Zelensky is clearly trying to minimize the problems that lie ahead.
Even the President criticized foreign diplomats in Ukraine who had left the country in droves.
“Diplomats are like captains, skippers. He was supposed to be the last person to leave the sinking ship. But Ukraine is not the Titanic, and we will not sink," Zelensky said.
The United States Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, said that the situation around the Black Sea was at a critical level. Even so, the possibility to carry out diplomacy is still very open.
Zelensky Background
Zelensky's attitude that seemed indifferent and underestimated the Ukraine-Russia crisis was recognized as inviting doubts from the West. The Washington Post reported that it was the attitude of the Ukrainian president that kept the United States from rushing to send large numbers of troops to what Biden called Eastern Europe.
What Zelensky did was reminiscent of the comedy film on Ukrainian television that he had starred in when he was still an actor and comedian, Servant of the People. The film revolves around the fictional character Vasyl Holoborodko, a history teacher at a high school who is unexpectedly elected President of Ukraine.
In real life, Zelensky really made it happen when he was surprisingly elected President of Ukraine in the 2019 Election. As a child in Ukrainian politics, Zelensky defeated incumbent Petro Poroshenko in a two-round election.
Born in Kryvyy Rih, southern Ukraine on January 25, 1978, Zelensky, who holds a law degree, has a career in the entertainment world. He formed the comedy group Kvartal 95 in 1997. His comedy career began to skyrocket since he and his group entered the finals of the Vesyólykh i Nakhódchivykh Club (KVN) or Club of Funny and Inventive People, if in Indonesia it is a kind of comedy competition on television.
KVN is very popular in the countries of the former USSR. After becoming a finalist, Zelensky with his comedy troupe performed regularly on KVN until 2003. His entertainment career continued after Zelensky founded the production house Studio Kvartal 95, which was a huge success in the entertainment world in Ukraine.
Zelensky's peak of popularity was when he starred in the comedy Servant of the People as Holoborodko. After plunging into politics, Zelensky formed the People's Servant Party which eventually led him to the seat of President of Ukraine.
During the final election debate on April 19, 2019, Poroshenko insulted Zelensky by saying that the comedian had no capacity to stand up to Russian ruler Vladimir Putin. After all, Zelensky still beat the incumbent, who is a billionaire Ukrainian, in the actual election on April 21, 2019. In fact, Zelensky won a landslide victory with 73 percent of the vote.
In just a matter of days since being sworn in as President of Ukraine, Zelensky has faced a tough challenge. Putin gives the lure of free passports to Ukrainians who want to convert to Russian citizenship, especially in the separatist-controlled eastern region of Ukraine.
In response to Vladimir Putin's provocation, Volodymyr Zelensky issued a mocking statement: "You are welcome if you want to move to a country with an authoritarian and corrupt regime." And, Zelenksy uploaded the joke on his Facebook page.
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