{"text":[[{"start":4.9,"text":"Which man is likelier to be leading his country in 2029, Donald Trump or Volodymyr Zelenskyy? The savvy bet would be Zelenskyy, even if Trump tries to defy term limits. No other world leader can claim to have survived and thrived on the enmity of both Trump and Vladimir Putin. The misfortunes befalling Russia’s “special military operation” mean he could also outlast Putin. But Zelenskyy’s tenacity goes further than the battlefield. He, more than any other western leader — barring Trump (and for different motives) — has the ability to catalyse change in Europe. "}],[{"start":38.449999999999996,"text":"Trump likes to hang out with winners. In the Oval Office 15 months ago he presented Zelenskyy as the loser. He said the Ukrainian did not have any cards. Having failed to get him to sign a one-sided mineral rights deal, Scott Bessent, Trump’s Treasury secretary, referred to Ukraine’s leader as “this little fucker” and the “special-needs child for the Europeans”, according to Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan in their new book, Regime Change. Children with special needs often have difficulties learning. Ukraine’s capacity to innovate on the battlefield suggests Zelenskyy does not face such challenges."}],[{"start":75,"text":"The situation on the ground has not necessarily been moving to Russia’s advantage. Trump thus took a very different approach to Zelenskyy last week at the G7 summit in Evian. The measure of the US president’s shift was evident in the G7 statement commending Ukraine’s “resilience” and “new momentum”, while promising more western arms and aid to carry it through next winter. "}],[{"start":96.9,"text":"It is doubtful Trump can ever bring himself to see Zelenskyy as a winner. His retributional instinct means he cannot forgive Ukraine’s leader for declining to dig up dirt on Joe Biden during his first term. Trump will forever associate Zelenskyy with his first impeachment. But he is no longer presenting him as a loser. "}],[{"start":116.7,"text":"The House of Representatives earlier this month passed a new $8bn aid package for Ukraine. Via the same “discharge petition” used to get around the block by the Republican Speaker, Mike Johnson, when publishing the Epstein files, Ukraine aid passed comfortably. The Senate will be the test. Would Trump veto it? That there is no obvious answer today is telling."}],[{"start":139.6,"text":"More significant is whether Trump approves Zelenskyy’s plea to make Patriot air missile defences in Ukraine. The Ukrainian president claims he has — and Lockheed Martin would presumably welcome the business. Given Trump’s conviction that Putin is regional top dog, his green light is unlikely. But Zelenskyy has new leverage. Teams of Ukrainian defence entrepreneurs are advising the Pentagon as part of its new $54bn drone warfare budget. Ukrainian start-ups and those who use their products on the battlefield are in acute demand globally. It is becoming harder for Trumpians to present Ukraine as a welfare beneficiary."}],[{"start":178.8,"text":"Nor, in an age when America’s first family is openly using the president’s office to enrich itself, does the charge of Ukrainian corruption any longer carry resonance in Washington. Zelenskyy has had his share of graft scandals. But Trump, who has suspended America’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, is partial to dealmaking inducements. Zelenskyy can offer some nowadays. Putin, on the other hand, is uninterested in Trump’s recurring offers to broker a deal. That also explains Trump’s acquiescence to the G7 communiqué. With the fires from recent Ukrainian drone strikes visible in Moscow and St Petersburg, Putin is in no state to negotiate. "}],[{"start":216.65,"text":"Zelenskyy’s clarity of purpose gives him greater potential sway over the west’s future than any leader other than Trump. Canada’s Mark Carney also has a clear agenda, courtesy of Trump’s predatory rhetoric. But the debate over Ukraine’s EU membership could help give birth to a genuine European defence identity. Given Trump’s distaste for the alliance, the debates over EU expansion and the future of Nato will increasingly overlap. With the largest and most modern military in Europe, Ukraine’s voice will be critical."}],[{"start":249.8,"text":"Zelenskyy’s rhetoric stands as a rebuke to the timidity of western leadership. As one British prime minister is replaced by another, and France faces the prospect of a far-right president next year, Zelenskyy offers conviction. Amid a world of rightwing strongmen, he makes the case for liberal democracy without apology. Because of Ukraine’s circumstances, he speaks to a larger audience than other leaders — except one. Trump is no friend of the “west”. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, is reminding the west of itself. "}],[{"start":286.7,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1782267917_3311.mp3"}