Today marks the third anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Putin said he had no plans to invade. Putin said the 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border were engaged in “training exercises.” There had not been a ground war in Europe since 1945. The U.N. Charter banned the invasion of one sovereign nation by another. Would he or wouldn’t he? It was inconceivable. But he did. Putin ordered his troops to cross the border, fully expecting that Ukraine would fall in three days. It didn’t.

And here we are. Three years later. Ukraine is still standing. The Russians have bombed the country mercilessly: schools, apartment buildings, hospitals, power stations, cultural centers. Ukraine has suffered terrible damage. Yet they have fought the far larger, more powerful Russian army to a standstill.

Russia demolished the beautiful city of Mariupol. But Ukraine still stands.

Trump appears ready, even eager, to sell Ukraine out. He has repeatedly belittled Ukraine’s leader, Zelensky. Musk insults Zelensky constantly in Twitter. They seem to be ready to betray Ukraine and to restore Putin to a role on the world stage, despite his corruption and brutality.

This Ukrainian, Viktor Kravchuk, sees the world differently. He wrote this lovely tribute to the man who has led Ukraine during its darkest hours.

He wrote:

WHEN HISTORY LOOKS BACK ON this war, on this moment, on these three years of bloodshed and sacrifice, one name will shine above all others.

Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy….

We need to talk about this man, because no one truly knows what could have happened if he hadn’t been there to lead.

This is a man who could have left. A man who was expected to leave.

The world was really expecting he would run. Western leaders whispered about setting up a Ukrainian government-in-exile abroad, like the invaded countries did so many times in history. They thought it was the “smart” move, the “practical” move. Many embassies in Kyiv packed up and left, destroying sensitive equipment before crossing the border, never expecting to return.

But Zelenskyy refused.

He looked at the Russian tanks rolling toward Kyiv. He heard the American offer to evacuate him. And he said the words that would define him forever: “I need ammunition, not a ride.”

That moment changed everything.

The citizens of this country, inspired by the president’s defiance, fought harder than anyone imagined. Millions of civillians, many of them who never have operated a rifle before, joined the soldiers and went to the frontlines. The world saw this man standing tall in the middle of pure chaos, and because he stood, everyone else did too.

And Ukraine won the Battle of Kyiv. Almost three years ago now. It was our first big victory of the war. Not only the first victory, but also the first sign that this war would not going to be what Putin had planned. And Zelenskyy has never stopped fighting after that. Ever since, Zelenskyy regularly visits the frontlines to meet with warriors.

We are talking about a man of action, not words.

“If the deal is that we just give up our territories, and that’s the idea behind it, then it’s a very primitive idea. I don’t need a fantastic idea, I need a real idea, because people’s lives are at stake.”

These are not the words of a man looking for an easy way out. These are the words of a leader who understands the cost of surrender. Because it’s more than obvious at this point of time and history this war is not about land. It is about people. It is about justice. It is about the right of a nation to exist.

Our president understands this in a way that many so-called leaders do not.

And then, on the other side of the world, there is Donald Trump.

If Zelenskyy represents the best of humanity, the resilience to stand against evil, Trump represents its worst. Not just incompetence, not just corruption, but an absolute void where morality should be. There is no honor among his ambitions, no higher cause in his conquests. He is a man who poisons everything he touches. Who sees loyalty as something to exploit, who views his own country not as something to protect, but as something to own.

While Ukraine battles on the frontlines for freedom, the West in general but America in particular, face its own war: truth against lies, justice against corruption, courage against cowardice. The stakes are no different. Here, Putin wants to crush us. There, Trump wants to tear America apart from the inside.

If you want to know what leadership looks like, look to Ukraine. Look to the man who walks through trenches and visits soldiers on the frontlines. Look to a president who refuses to abandon his people, who has risked everything. Not for power, not for wealth, but for the simple belief that his country is worth fighting for.

That is leadership. That is courage. That is what we should demand in our own leaders.

But Zelenskyy’s leadership is not just in battle, not just in strategy. It is in his voice. He has spoken to every major government, every parliament, every organization that matters in this fight. He has stood before the U.S. Congress and told them why this war matters not just for Ukraine, but for the future of democracy itself.

And the world listened. Because when he speaks, he does not just represent himself.

He represents the soldiers holding the trenches. He represents the families sleeping in subway stations. He represents the mothers, the fathers, the children, every Ukrainian who refuses to be erased.

One day, this war will end. Ukraine will be in peace again, united, prosperous. This day, Zelenskyy will no longer have to fight. And when that day comes, may he sit peacefully in one of our beautiful beaches of the Black Sea, in a free Crimea, after an uninterrupted night of sleep, and watch his country rise from the ashes.

Because he did not give up. Because he stood when others would have fallen. Because he led when the world needed him most.

Because through the hardest three years in Ukraine’s history, no one would be doing a better job than him.

Thank you for everything, Volodymyr.

We resist because we are Ukrainians.

And every day of these three years, you remind us what that truly means.

🌻