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Whatever you think of Volodymyr Zelensky as a politician, there is no denying that he has unified both the east and west of Ukraine in what has to be a frightening spectacle when viewed from the Kremlin.
He’s won by large margins in all but one region regardless of whether mostly Russian-speaking or Ukrainian- speaking. So this is the second election cycle in a row where divisions along linguistic lines have not played out in a major way (the first was Poroshenko in 2014).
More importantly it’s the second free and fair undisputed election in a row in Ukraine and it’s beginning to look like a democratic tradition in a region filled with despots and dictators. The message the Ukrainian people are sending to Russia is if we can do it, you can do it.
Zelensky understands the message his victory is sending to the wider region and pointed it out in his victory speech. When he said to the people of the ex-Soviet Union “Look at us, this is possible,” it felt to me like he was speaking to Russia specifically.
Credit for the success of the election goes to President Poroshenko. He disappointed voters by using the presidency to enrich himself, but has accepted defeat. Stepping down peacefully might be the most important thing he does for his country
I summed up some of these thoughts for @Euronews this morning:
In case you haven’t heard, a guy who played the president in a TV show has become the president in real life. But our story from Ukraine is about much more than just that. Camera: @rmnua
