# President Zelensky refuses U.S. offer to evacuate, saying 'I need ammunition, not a ride' **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion\ **Created:** [February 26, 2022, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170 "2022-02-26T23:36:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/1 "2022-02-26T23:36:53Z")
Who knew that a mere comedian would rise to that level of leadership? Well, maybe the writers of Seinfeld: > [@](#): > > In my country, they speak of a man so virile, so potent, that to spend a night with such a man is to enter a world of such sensual delights most women dare not dream of. This man is known as the “Comedian”. Bravo, President Zelensky! > **[Zelensky refuses U.S. offer to evacuate, saying 'I need ammunition, not a ride'](https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride-1.5797367)** > > Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has turned down an offer from the United States of evacuation from the capital city Kyiv, the Ukraine embassy in Britain said Saturday on Twitter. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/2 "2022-02-27T00:44:45Z")
He, along with those 13 Ukrainian border guards on Snake Island who told a Russian navy vessel to “go fuck yourself”, will definitely be on the top of my heroes list for some time. And don’t forget when President Zelenskyy [took Putin to task for calling the Ukrainian govenrment Nazis](https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-jewish-president-volodymyr-zelenskiy-how-could-i-be-a-nazi-vladimir-putin-war/), when Zelenskyy is Jewish. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/3 "2022-02-27T00:48:55Z")
As far as I can tell, “Nazi” and “fascist” are the go-too, all-purpose political insults in Russia, without regard to any facts or evidence. Sorta like “fake news”, “loser” etc. for a particular former political official in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/4 "2022-02-27T23:45:38Z")
Another update on the President’s courage. EU leaders were meeting to consider imposing more sanctions, including the SWIFT cut-off: > [@](#): > > Talk of barring Russia from the global financial messaging system known as SWIFT, however, stalled amid skepticism on the part of Scholz and the leaders of Austria, Italy and Cyprus, according to officials familiar with the deliberations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations. > > Then Ukrainian President [Volodymyr Zelensky](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/26/ukraine-russia-zelensky-war/?itid=lk_inline_manual_8) dialed into the meeting via teleconference with a bracing appeal that left some of the world-weary politicians with watery eyes. In just five minutes, Zelensky — speaking from the battlefield of Kyiv — pleaded with European leaders for an honest assessment of his country’s ambition to join the E.U. and for genuine help in its fight with the Russian invaders. Food, ammunition, fuel, sanctions — Ukraine needed its European neighbors to step up with all of it. > > “It was extremely, extremely emotional,” said a European official briefed on the call. “He was essentially saying: ‘Look, we are here dying for European ideals.” > > **Before disconnecting the video call, Zelensky told the gathering matter-of-factly that it might be the last time they saw him alive** , according to a senior E.U. official who was present. > **[Historic sanctions on Russia had roots in emotional appeal from Zelensky](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/02/27/russia-ukraine-sanctions-swift-central-bank/)** > > A video call by the Ukrainian wartime leader prompted jaded European leaders to act. There are reports that the Russians are hunting Zelensky as their number 1 target; and his family is the number 2 target. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/5 "2022-02-27T23:53:50Z")
NYTimes article, with video; don’t know if it’s paywalled. > **[Video: Zelensky Says He Is Russia’s ‘Target No. 1’](https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/europe/100000008227247/zelensky-ukraine-russia.html)** > > Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said that he remained in the country despite rumors that he had fled and that despite his efforts the country should not expect help from abroad. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/6 "2022-02-28T00:51:51Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > There are reports that the Russians are hunting Zelensky as their number 1 target; I think it’s too late. At one time Putin could have seriously crippled Ukraine’s defense efforts by killing Zelensky, but that time was days ago. All it will do now is piss the people off even more. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/7 "2022-02-28T01:09:22Z")
Yeah, after showing off a pair of brass balls that big, Zelensky’s a guaranteed martyr if they off him. They’d never be rid of him. They might still be stupid enough to assassinate him anyway. But no matter what they do, it won’t end well for them. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/8 "2022-02-28T01:54:30Z")
I don’t foresee any scenario where Zelensky is captured alive. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/9 "2022-02-28T02:07:27Z")
Oh, I don’t think that Zelensky will survive this war, no matter how short lived it is. I was just saying that Putin is too late to defeat Ukraine by killing him now. Zelensky is a hero and has inspired his country and the world. He probably saved Ukraine and I hope his kids live to enjoy peace. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/10 "2022-02-28T03:50:47Z")
President Zelensky isn’t the only one with personal courage. A granny gave them a chilling earful: > [@](#): > > After brazenly asking the soldiers “what the fuck” they were doing in Ukraine, **the unidentified woman told the group to take some sunflower seeds, the national flower of Ukraine, and put them in their pockets, “so at least sunflowers will grow when you all lie down here.”** After essentially vowing to the soldiers that they’d become fertilizer, the ballsy woman declared, “From this moment, you are cursed. I’m telling you.” > **[WATCH: Badass Ukrainian Woman Gives Russian Soldiers a Glorious Earful](https://www.thedailybeast.com/ukrainian-woman-gives-russian-soldiers-in-henichesk-a-glorious-earful-as-invasion-continues)** > > After essentially vowing to the soldiers that they’d become fertilizer, the ballsy woman declared, “From this moment, you are cursed. I’m telling you.” That sort of encounter can’t be good for morale at the individual level. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/11 "2022-02-28T04:06:43Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > That sort of encounter can’t be good for morale at the individual level. “Babushka just told me to fuck off and die. I mean, literally _die_ after having _fucked off!_” “Oh, that’s gotta hurt!” ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/12 "2022-02-28T04:11:57Z")
Do not mess with Grandma on HER turf. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/13 "2022-02-28T04:29:12Z")
When Ukrainian grandmothers are telling young and fit Russian soldiers to fuck off, that says something: Ukraine’s not going to give up easily, if at all. Did Putin expect this level of resistance? ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/14 "2022-02-28T17:19:32Z")
Dick Cheney said we would be welcomed as liberators in Iraq. When you live in a bubble, hearing only what you want to hear, you can start to believe some really strange things. Putin seems to sincerely believe that Ukraine’s various turns toward the West have simply been due to the actions of Western covert action groups, rather than expressions of the sincere desires of Ukraine’s people. He might have thought that if Russia just kicked in the door the whole house would fall down, but he would have been wise to see where that notion had been expressed before. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/15 "2022-02-28T18:09:46Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > When you live in a bubble, hearing only what you want to hear, you can start to believe some really strange things. Cf. our own former President. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/16 "2022-03-01T02:50:28Z")
This is the Ukrainian equivalent of Biden, Harris, Pelosi, Blinken, and the heads of all the branches of the Armed Services standing out on the White House lawn saying, “Here we are, and I dare you to come and get us.” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/u0-Yeqh4PFY/maxresdefault.jpg "Zelenskyy: I'll remain in Kyiv") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0-Yeqh4PFY) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/17 "2022-03-01T15:36:47Z")
What’s Ukranian for _Molon Labe_? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/18 "2022-03-01T15:38:49Z")
_Володимир Зеленський._ ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/19 "2022-03-04T09:51:44Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > _Володимир Зеленський._ Correct spelling: Володимир Зеленський (Cite: [His own tweets](https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa).) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170/20 "2022-03-04T17:56:12Z")
?? Looks identical to me? Though the name would be spelled differently in _Russian._ Anyway, as far as telling people to go fuck themselves, there is not such a big language barrier between Ukrainian and Russian. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-zelensky-refuses-u-s-offer-to-evacuate-saying-i-need-ammunition-not-a-ride/960170.md?page=2)