Is it over the top to compare Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Winston Churchill?

[Stinky The Clown]

I think the comparison is apt.

[Walleye]

1. I have been thinking that he compares favorably to Churchill since the beginning

Winston Churchill 21st-century style

[Gaugamela]

2. To be honest, Zelenskyy may transcend Churchill. Churchill took some considerable

personal risks, flying across the Atlantic and the English Channel during the war, but Zelenskyy is taking profound personal risks on a daily basis. If he is captured we’ll never see him again.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. Churchill's racist policies in India killed millions, among other things, so uh

[Bucky]

9. The point of comparison has to do with ability to rally his nation to an existential fight

Zelenskyy is also a leader with flaws, along with 99% of all leaders. For instance his embrace of the neo-nazi Azov Militia gave unneeded credence to Putin's mostly dishonest claim of needing to "denazify" Ukraine. I mean, they were willing to kill Russian invaders, which is a good thing, but Zelenskyy didn't have to award their commander the Hero of Ukraine medal or otherwise ignore the very real charges of human rights violations. And despite talking right on corruption in Ukraine's government, he didn't really do anything about it for the three years prior to the Russian invasion.

Now, are these important concerns where we address Zelenskyy as a wartime leader? Not at all. He's a big man doing a big job. The flaws really don't amount to much compared to what he's doing to protect the west and weaken the bully in the Kremlin. History may have other twists and turns in store for the president's reputation, but for the time being, he's the man of the hour, a near demi-god. In that, he's very much like Churchill.

[canetoad]

4. Nope

I don't think that's over the top at all.

[usonian]

6. I'll post this Churchill speech just one more time, because it seems appropriate here.

In terms of managing a war, yes.
Others: YMMV

Original is here: last 5 or so lines. It's a vote of confidence resolution.
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/speech/blood.htm

I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.

We have before us many, many months of struggle and suffering.
You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war by land, sea, and air. War with all our might and with all the strength God has given us, and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim?

I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs - Victory in spite of all terrors - Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.
Let that be realized. No survival for the British Empire, no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, no survival for the urge, the impulse of the ages, that mankind shall move forward toward his goal.
I take up my task in buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. I feel entitled at this juncture, at this time, to claim the aid of all and to say, "Come then, let us go forward together with our united strength."

I made a few edits to shift the speech to our own challenge. You can find them here.
https://democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=16725945

[UTUSN]

7. My *HUMBLE* thing: It's over the top to compare CHURCHILL to CHURCHILL.

NOT talking about the OP here, but in recent wingnut revisionism THEIR (not OP) attempt to find some way to tamp down FDR has taken the form of elevating CHURCHILL over him. CHURCHILL needs NO elevating from me for his own thing, while as other posters have noted there's colonialism/racism.

That said, I join in praising ZELENSKYY. All good?

[Hekate]

8. Funny, I called him that today when hubby told me Zelensky had sent his condolences to the US...

I said it felt like Winston Churchill standing in the rubble of London during the Battle of Britain and sending us condolences for some crashingly stupid self-inflicted wound. It’s … embarrassing.

Yes, in this moment the comparison is apt. Zelensky is the right man at the right time and is growing in response to the crisis.