President Volodymyr Zelensky’s legacy was televised to the world tonight in his historic speech to the United States Congress. After being on the battlefield in Eastern Ukraine, President Zelensky flew 4,881 miles to meet with President Biden and the United States Congress. No doubt he will be on an airplane tonight to return to the battlefield.

As someone who has traveled to Russia more than 20 times in the 1980s – 2002, I speak with some knowledge of Ukraine and Russia. The aggression of Russia is criminal and in order for Ukraine to defend itself, it needs the support of the West. Some have suggested his speech as historic, comparing it with Winston Churchill’s address to the joint session of the US Congress in 1941, as WWII was waging in Europe. Although the current war being waged by the Russians is Putin’s War, we don’t know what Russian citizens think about the war. One of my close friends in Moscow believes that the war with Ukraine is justified. Another of my friends believes the war is a nightmare, for not only Ukrainians, but the Russian people as well.

Joint Session of Congress

There is knowledge that NATO and the United States contributed to the current situation along the western border of Russia. We can look back to the presidency of Bill Clinton, and then move forward to the present time. There were agreements made by Reagan to Gorbachev that NATO would not expand to the East. That didn’t happen. All of the former states of the Soviet Union along Russia’s western border are now members of NATO, except for Ukraine.

But, we have to now consider the motivation of Vladimir Putin, and he desire to re-create the Soviet empire. When the USSR dissolved into 17 countries, Putin was a KGB officer in East Germany. While there, he found out he was out a job, and so he rushed back to St. Petersburg. He made a series of moves to make himself visible to politicians and oligarchs. After serving in the St. Petersburg administration of a democratic mayor, he moved to Moscow and soon found himself a favored son of Russian president Boris Yeltsin. After heading up the newly constructed Federal Security Service (FSB), a successor of the KGB, Putin joined the Yeltsin government, and soon became Prime Minister (with little to no experience). Yeltsin resigned while being investigated for corruption, Putin became president. Putin moved quickly to establish an authoritarian government, and allied himself with rich and powerful oligarchs. He also re-wrote history, and made it clear that he wanted to return to the days of the Soviet Union.

From 2014, he has been at war with Ukraine. He took Crimea, and moved into the Eastern areas of Ukraine and launched a prolonged war. In 2022, he invaded Ukraine, and has waged terroristic attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky’s Speech

President Zelensky spoke to the joint session of Congress and gave a consequential speech. You can hear the speech here and gain understanding to Volodymyr Zelensky’s legacy.