From Ukraine’s standpoint, Zelensky is undoubtedly a hero in defense of his country. His performances in the international arena, especially recently in the White House, have been characterized as tough.
The problem is that if it was possible to fight Russia to the end with the unanimous support of the U.S. and the West, now that the U.S. no longer supports it, it is likely that European support alone will not last long.
The Russia-Ukraine war has been going on for 3 years now. On the whole, Russia still has the upper hand, after all, occupying most of the territory of the four eastern regions of Ukraine. Ukraine used to occupy more than 1,000 square kilometers of land in Kursk Oblast, but now it has shrunk to more than 300 square kilometers. What’s more, Ukraine lost almost 10 million people and more than 1 million fighters died. In order to replenish its soldiers, the Ukrainian authorities have had to forcibly arrest soldiers, which has stirred up public resentment.
What would have happened if the war had been fought for three more years with the support of European countries? Most likely all of Ukraine would have been occupied by Russia. Because away from the US star chain system, Ukraine would hardly be able to sustain itself in any case.
Is Zelensky still a hero if the last drop of blood is shed and the last inch of territory is lost?
It’s important to think about what a country can do to get out of humiliation and bounce back.
The story of King Goujian of Yue lying on his back is really thought-provoking. When Yue was defeated by Wu, King Goujian of Yue was captured and forced to hold the stirrup for the King of Wu, and even licked feces to cure his illness, and suffered a lot of humiliation.
However, King Goujian of Yue did not truly submit. After winning the trust of the king of Wu, he was able to return to his country and paid tribute to the king of Wu year after year, while at the same time, he rebuilt the economy and army of Yue with ten years’ hard work, and finally avenged the defeat of Wu by annexing the land of Wu, becoming the hero who had the last laugh.
Can Zelensky lead Ukraine on the path of strength through endurance and humiliation?
It is practically impossible.
The reason is that despite his defeat and capture, the people of Yue still respect him as king, and his men, such as Fan Li and Wen Qi, are still loyal to him. If Zelensky had signed a peace agreement to cede four regions of Eastern Ukraine, he would have been immediately rejected by his countrymen. Zelensky is not the king of Ukraine, but the president elected by the votes of the Ukrainian people. Zelensky has only one way to go, and that is to fight to the end, because that is the popular will of the Ukrainian people who elected him to be president.
As the war continues, as the land is further occupied and the army is further depleted, there must in fact be a major change in the public opinion of Ukraine. The army generals who still support Zelensky today will probably be the first to defect, because it is impossible to send all of one’s fighters into a war with no hope of victory in sight. At that point, whoever leads Ukraine to surrender will be the hero of Ukraine. Zaluzhny is an example of this, and Serhinsky may follow in his footsteps.
So a true democracy is likely to be one that is overwhelmed by the passion of public opinion and takes eggs and drives them against a rock, believing that a myriad of eggs will break the rock.
Zelensky is the egg hero who was propelled to the presidency by such public opinion. A successful actor, even if he sincerely wants to be a servant of the people in his heart, but neither understands the international competition of strengths, nor even understands the inherent strengths and weaknesses of Ukraine, and relies only on a passion to be a living egg, can only destroy the country and its people. This article was originally published in Han Deqiang’s own media
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