For months, even years, he was front page news. But now, with occasional exceptions, he has, at least in the United States, receded deep into the background.
Nevertheless, he plows on. He plows on, continues, against all odds, to lead his impossibly beleaguered country. He plows on, continues, against all odds, to lead his troops into battle against an ostensibly formidable military foe. He plows on, continues, against all odds, to lead a coalition of the willing, a retinue of his reliable allies. He plows on, continues, against all odds, to lead a revolution in battlefield technologies. He plows on, continues, against all odds, to weaken his opponent economically, to bleed it so that it cannot continue indefinitely to fight. He plows on, continues, against all odds, to play his part as a beacon of democracy in a world in which such beacons are in short supply. He plows on, continues, against all odds, to circle the globe to make his case, to shake hands with anyone anywhere who might provide him and his followers with critical military, financial, political, and technological support.
When the history of this period is written Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be one of the very, very few political leaders who proved the real deal. A good leader who was exceedingly, exceptionally effective and reasonably, relatively ethical.
Those among us who are students of leadership would do well to move him from background to foreground. Zelensky continues to stand the test of time. He is a political leader who defies the odds. Who remains true to his mission and who continues faithfully to do everything in his power to keep his followers, his country, as strong, independent, determined and democratic as possible under its impossibly difficult circumstance.