Summary

Days before the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Ukrainians find unity threatened not just by Russia but also shifting U.S. support.

Donald Trump’s false labeling of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “dictator” has provoked fierce backlash, even from Zelenskyy’s critics, who now rally around him.

With ongoing Russian attacks and Ukrainian forces stretched thin, Trump’s suggestion of a swift end to hostilities raises fears of concessions favoring Russia.

Officials argue that elections amid war would undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty. Many vow to continue resisting, regardless of major foreign policy changes.

  • werefreeatlast@lemmy.world
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    11 hours ago

    Zelensky is no dictator. He just happened to be the president at the time that putin invaded and now cannot simply quit and let it all fall apart. Who in their right mind would choose to be a good leader for Ukraine now when the US is turning nazi?

    • Kvoth@lemmy.world
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      7 hours ago

      There are two very good reasons not to have an election there right now

      1: they just don’t have the time for it, they are fighting for their lives and country.

      1. A sudden strategy shift, even if it’s a good one, has the potential to put their army in disarray.

      More important, it’s just more projection. He’s a dictator. Not me

    • Madison420@lemmy.world
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      7 hours ago

      If I’m understanding it correctly he can’t just stop and he can’t run an election. He was the last elected official is well liked by his people and most of the world, he could appoint someone but that seems more dictatorial or monarchist than holding an office I think most everyone would rather not hold at the moment.

  • onecarmel@lemm.ee
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    15 hours ago

    Zelensky is the best person to be in the position he has, all things considered. Seems like a stand-up guy, and not a career politician that you’re gonna worry has other motives in mind.

    A true man of the people.

    “Slava Ukraini!”

    Fuck Trump and MAGA. I am beyond disappointed in my country.

    • dmention7@lemm.ee
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      13 hours ago

      Seems like a stand-up guy

      I mean, duh, he used to be a comedian!

      I’ll see myself out now…

    • Gsus4@mander.xyz
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      14 hours ago

      He was always going to run into trouble with trump’s bizarro views, because one of the greatest assets of Ukraine is being down-to-earth and the truth vs russia’s caleidoscope of bullshit. If they go along with trump’s bullshit, they have nothing left to fight for.

  • andrew_bidlaw
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    15 hours ago

    Zelensky isn’t the best fit, and his opponents in Russia call him a clown, yet this clown used and uses his media knowledge to, as a first face of the nation, keep this conflict feautured in world news, frequent frontlines, give a lot of direct adresses to his own people in this struggle, ask for supplies and support from other nations. I believe, he puts 125% effort into this and is likely shortening his own life by a constant overwork and stress. He and his people aren’t the best, and their country is plagued with post-ussr-style corruption, indeed, yet they do what they think is right in this turbulent situation.

    I’d indulge in whataboutism and ask, who we are to compare with the dude. Putin, Trump or Orban? What’s the baseline that’d put him to shame?

    • Zelensky may not be the best, but I have zero doubts regarding him trying his best and his continued resolve to try and do whatever is best for his people.

      One of the very few people in political office these days who deserve the title of “leader”. An admirable man indeed.

    • Carrolade@lemmy.world
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      14 hours ago

      I think he’s going to go down in history as one of the most successful civilian wartime leaders, ever. I truly cannot even begin to imagine how much he has had to learn on the job, and it has certainly taken years off his lifespan. Pictures of him now vs pictures of him pre-war could almost be a father and his son. But his sheer effectiveness at rallying his people and the world has been nothing short of legendary.

      “I need ammo, not a ride” is fully equivalent to “We will fight on the beaches”. So far I consider him in that same tier as the titans of history. This, I think, is what historical figures look like when you’re living alongside them, certainly mired in propaganda and debate, but with a certain shine that is hard to deny.

  • thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org
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    17 hours ago

    Zelenskyy is one of the greatest nation leaders I have witnessed in my lifetime.

    GLORY TO UKRAINE!!!

    With love,

    some Lakota dude from Washington State USA

    • Nythos
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      8 hours ago

      The one thing I hope I can look forward to in the future is Ukraine winning and reading a news report about Zelenskyy retiring and just enjoying life post-war

  • RandomStickman@fedia.io
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    18 hours ago

    He’s got Quebecois singing the national anthem in English, now he’s got Zelenskyy’s critic rally around him. He truly is uniting the world lol

    • HonoraryMancunian@lemmy.world
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      12 hours ago

      He’s got Quebecois singing the national anthem in English

      Wdym? I’m ootl (and my google-fu is apparently shit)

      • RandomStickman@fedia.io
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        12 hours ago

        My brother told me about it a few days ago during a hockey game in Montreal. I looked for clips and turns out it was bilingual, which is a little less exciting.

        • catloaf@lemm.ee
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          14 hours ago

          Fun fact, “awful” comes from “awe-ful”, that is, something that fills you with awe. Not necessarily something good or bad, just really big. In older books you see it used in that sense, referring to something like a loud noise, explosion, or a religious experience like the appearance of an angel.

          • Klear@lemmy.world
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            14 hours ago

            Yup! Similar thing as with “awful / awesome” happened with “terrible / terrific”.

            Horrible / horrific is still both bad though.

    • SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world
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      15 hours ago

      Other world leaders should really start to ignore the guy and respond to his blabbering with “if I wanted your opinion, I’d ask Putin.”

    • leftzero@lemmynsfw.com
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      12 hours ago

      I mean we do, but like one would look at a particularly bloated and grotesque tumour. 🤷‍♂️

    • Amanduh@lemm.ee
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      18 hours ago

      People do. Here’s a comment from someone in a discord I am in, we’ve been arguing about the nazi salutes and donny calling himself king. I brought up the 3rd term stuff that donny has been saying and this is what my “friend” said verbatim : “As much as I’d be down for a 3rd term considering all the garbage thrown at him his first term, I don’t see it as realistic. VP? Have at it. But 3rd term as King, not so much. Tho as far as I’m aware, he’s not said anything about it, just others in the party”

      • Captainvaqina
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        18 hours ago

        It’s a nice thing, the volunteer outreach you’re doing to try and help the mentally disabled.

        • Amanduh@lemm.ee
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          14 hours ago

          I’m not even trying to like win an argument here I just think saying “wow that’s crazy and he shouldn’t be calling himself a king” is too much to ask from some people.

    • Mog_fanatic@lemmy.world
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      18 hours ago

      I mean I do not understand it but there are a lot of people that absolutely do. A shockingly high number.

      • Today@lemmy.world
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        17 hours ago

        I’m in Texas (Dallas) and i don’t really see those people. Most of the Republicans i know love George Bush but when you mention Greg Abbott or Trump they just shake their heads. It’s the rural areas.

        • Photuris@lemmy.ml
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          16 hours ago

          It is the rural areas.

          I’m in rural TN, and the Trump cult is embedded deep here.

          I get to look out my bedroom window and see Trump flags every morning.

          • EldritchFeminity@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            15 hours ago

            I’m in Massachusetts and can report much the same here. Outside the cities, there’s plenty of MAGA maniacs. You could see “Trump 2020” flags still up all throughout Biden’s term in spots.

        • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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          15 hours ago

          That’s the thing that people on the Left need to understand.

          Voting matters.

          The MAGoos vote in every election.

          Until the Left makes voting a priority the MAGoos will always have the advantage.

  • eran_morad@lemmy.world
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    18 hours ago

    Since foreign interests wield all the power in Washington anyway, can we get Zelenskyy as president?

  • skozzii@lemmy.ca
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    17 hours ago

    The rest of the world doesn’t live in the American misinformation bubble…

      • boreengreen@lemm.ee
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        14 hours ago

        America has fox news. Legaly not a news channel, but an entertainment channel. They argue that you are not suposed to take them seriously. But their viewers don’t know that. Half the country takes whatever is said dead seriously.

  • ThaMunsta
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    13 hours ago

    Good. That’s how stupidity should be responded to.

  • index
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    12 hours ago

    People don’t like to hear it because it’s coming from a corrupted pig like trump but zelenskyy is indeed a dictator. Martial law is a form of dictatorship and it shouldn’t exist: human beings do not need authoritarian laws to be able to defend themself. While zelenskyy has been touring the fancy courts of world rulers to get money and weapons that directly empower his government ukrainian men between 18-60 haven’t been able to leave the country since 2022 and in fear of getting stuck there many ukranians living abroad haven’t been able to return. There are cases of people dying trying to flee the border and the draft reach the point where they started kidnapping people in the streets.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_conscription_crisis

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXhC8WREVKM

    • barsoap@lemm.ee
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      12 hours ago

      Aside from you turning standard democratic practice in wartime into dictatorship and molehills into mountains, and the general backing that those policies have in Ukrainian society, which is perfectly intact as a polity – you know what’s a fast and easy way for all of it to stop? Russia backing the fuck off into its own territory.

      • index
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        12 hours ago

        Suspending and abolish human rights it’s not a standard democratic practice, it’s standard practice for corrupted rulers who seek every mean to get more wealth and power.

        If you were russian and china decides to invade your country would you been fine with russian authorities kidnapping you off the street to fight for their government?

        • barsoap@lemm.ee
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          11 hours ago

          I don’t know, is China arresting people who protest the war and throwing them at frontlines in Russia? “Front or fifty years of gulag for high treason” kind of voluntary recruitment?

    • IzzyScissor@lemmy.world
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      12 hours ago

      That’s an interesting wikipedia article - that’s the first time I’ve seen [failed verification] on a citation, let alone two. You learn something new every day.