Looking tired, determined and painfully human, Ukraine’s president carefully makes the case for his country
In a video address without precedent, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appeared in front of a packed House of Commons. He looked tired, and determined, and painfully human. He was not seeking to persuade MPs with his rhetoric, nor to make a complicated case, he wasn’t there as a supplicant or a showman. He only wanted to know, beyond any shade of doubt, that the world could see what was happening to Ukraine. He didn’t want to be your hero. He could not help but be your hero.
MPs are not supposed to applaud in the House of Commons. It’s one of their many alienating conventions, the cause of their hear-hears and other dumb noises. What a powerful shock it was to see the chamber on its feet and clapping. You become so used to politics as theatre, and suddenly the actors are also devastated, also mystified as to what comes next.
