The Goliath: Vladimir Putin
Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s formidable opponent is Russia’s kleptocratic autocrat Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, successively KGB officer, FSB director, prime minister, president, absolute ruler. Putin has broken the peace in Europe and attempted to forcibly redraw the universally recognized borders of a sovereign United Nations member state. He has invaded a peaceful neighboring country under the false pretense of denazifying it and liberating its oppressed citizens. He has conducted the hostilities with utter disregard for international laws governing armed conflict and the treatment of civilians, and with equally absent care for his own combatants. He has snuffed domestic dissent through tight control of information, extensive propaganda, and swift suppression of protests.