Zelensky’s Message to the World: What Works in Gaza Can Work for Us

President Volodymyr Zelensky has sent a clear message to the world following his weekend call with US President Donald Trump: the diplomatic strategies that worked in Gaza can work for Ukraine. This assertion forms the basis of a renewed international campaign by Kyiv to garner support for a decisive end to the war with Russia.
The message was first delivered directly to Trump, whom Zelensky congratulated for the “outstanding achievement” in the Middle East. He then immediately broadcast a wider appeal through his public comments: “If a war can be stopped in one region, then surely other wars can be stopped as well—including the Russian war.”
This public declaration is aimed at international leaders, diplomats, and citizens who may have grown weary of the long conflict. It is an attempt to inject a new sense of possibility and to challenge the notion that the war in Ukraine is an unsolvable quagmire.
Zelensky’s message is twofold. First, it is a message of hope—that peace is achievable. Second, it is a message of strategy—that the path to peace is through strength. By discussing enhanced air defenses with Trump, he signaled that this is not wishful thinking, but a concrete plan that requires international backing.
By universalizing the Gaza deal, Zelensky is making a powerful case for global solidarity. He is asking the world to see the interconnectedness of conflicts and to apply the lessons from one success story to the ongoing tragedy in his homeland, arguing that the time for a concerted peace effort is now.