Drawing a direct and powerful parallel, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is framing the end of the war in Gaza and the need to end the war in Europe as two parts of the same global imperative. His message is a unified call for peace, arguing that momentum from one success should immediately fuel the other.
“Now, as the war in the Middle East comes to an end, it is important not to lose the momentum for advancing peace,” Zelensky stated. He explicitly connected the two theaters of conflict, suggesting that the international community has a moral obligation to apply the same peacemaking vigor to Ukraine.
This strategy elevates the conflict in Ukraine from a regional issue to a global test of principle. If the world, led by the US, can broker an end to one brutal war, Zelensky asks, what is the excuse for not doing so for another? “If a war can be stopped in one region, then surely other wars can be stopped as well,” he reiterated.
He directly credited President Donald Trump for the Gaza “success,” thereby identifying the agent he believes can and should lead this unified peace effort. His appeal is for the US to see its role not as a regional mediator, but as a global peacemaker with unfinished business in Europe.
This unified call is made against the dissonant sound of air raid sirens in Ukraine. The contrast between the quiet in one region and the continued “aerial terror” in another is the emotional core of Zelensky’s appeal for a consistent, global approach to ending war.