Volodymyr Zelenskyy dropped a barrage of truth bombs on his European allies about their collective failure to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and be respected by his US counterpart, Donald Trump.
Invoking the spectacle of Bill Murray’s classic comedy, Groundhog Day, at a speech in Davos, the Ukrainian president said the UK and Europe are stuck in a doom loop, repeating rhetoric about what needs to be done – without taking the action required to make things change.
This, he said, meant they were left scrambling to respond to world events instead of standing united as a great power with the ability to shape their collective destiny.
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Only from such a position of strength could Europe hope to influence supposed friends such as Mr Trump and foes like Mr Putin.
Addressing the World Economic Forum following a face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump, Mr Zelenskyy said Europe “remains a beautiful but fragmented kaleidoscope of small and middle powers.
“Instead of taking the lead in defending freedom worldwide, especially when America’s focus shifts elsewhere, Europe looks lost, trying to convince the US president to change.
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“But he will not change. President Trump loves who he is, and he says he loves Europe, but he will not listen to this kind of Europe.”
Making no effort to mask his frustration, Ukraine’s wartime leader listed failure after failure by London, Berlin, Paris and the rest of Europe’s NATO capitals to adopt a united front in the face of rapidly evolving challenges.
In particular, Mr Zelenskyy pointed to the row with Washington over Greenland, which was started and ended by Mr Trump after he threatened to seize the territory, only to back down, but not before plunging the rest of the alliance into crisis and taking attention away from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
He also slammed the Europeans for standing on the sidelines while Iran killed thousands of protesters earlier this month, asking: “What will Iran become after this bloodshed? If the regime survives, it sends a clear signal to every bully – kill enough people and you stay in power. Who in Europe needs that message to become a reality?”
But his strongest condemnation was for the continued weakness of European allies in the face of Russia’s full-scale invasion of his country, which is about to enter its fifth year.
Mr Zelenskyy noted how Donald Trump had moved quickly to capture Venezuela’s former president Nicolas Maduro and put him on trial, while Mr Putin remains at large despite European desires to establish a special tribunal to try him for war crimes.
“What’s missing – time or political will?” he asked.
“Too often in Europe, something else is always more urgent than justice.”
He was similarly scathing about efforts to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine, signalling that work led by the UK and France to establish a “coalition of the willing” – while “positive” – was an empty gesture without US involvement.
And pointless unless the fighting stops.
“What about the ceasefire itself? Who can help make it happen?
“Europe loves to discuss the future, but avoids taking action today. Action that defines what kind of future we will have. That’s the problem.”
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Finally – and this was a point Mr Zelenskyy first made a year ago, so it is hardly surprisingly he is exasperated at having to make it again – the president called on nations across Europe to create a united armed forces to defend their continent.
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This would be instead of relying on an increasingly unpredictable US as part of the NATO alliance – an idea that has in the past been rejected by countries like the UK that put operating with US forces as a central part of their security planning.
Mr Zelenskyy warned that world events right now – from Mr Trump’s social media posts to Mr Putin’s next bout of hostilities – were moving faster than Europe could cope with.
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“We should not accept that Europe is just a salad of small and middle powers seasoned with enemies of Europe,” he said. “When united, we are truly invincible.
“Europe can and must be a global force, not one that reacts late, but one that defines the future.”
