Final Word from Thursday, April 7, 2022
If there were any doubts about whether Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelensky was in Kyiv, they were dispelled on Mon., when he appeared quite convincingly in nearby Bucha. EU Commission Pres. Ursula von der Leyen will also presumably take a convincing stand today against Russian aggression when she visits Kyiv with chief EU diplomat Josep Borrell, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Slovak PM Eduard Heger. These four played it safe and waited to visit until Russia had pulled back from the capital, which came sooner than expected. The PMs of Poland, the CR and Slovenia will still have bragging rights as the first EU national leaders to visit since the war began, but they risk being outmaneuvered in the PR department by Von der Leyen if she insists on lots of photo ops in the sunlight. Petr Fiala refused to give more details of his visit for "security reasons," but with the Russians now gone from Kyiv, surely he will be able to share another photo or two with his eager fans. [ Czech Republic Slovakia Austria Polish Slovenian Mateusz Morawiecki Jaroslaw Kaczynski Janez Janša president prime minister European Union Kiev ]
Glossary of difficult words
to dispel - to make (a doubt, feeling, or belief) disappear;
to play it safe - to be careful to avoid risk or danger;
bragging rights - the opportunity to speak proudly due to having done something impressive;
to outmaneuver - to use skill and cunning to gain an advantage over;
PR department - in terms of public relations;
photo op - photo opportunity; an occasion on which famous people pose for photographers by prior arrangement;
eager - strongly wanting to do or have something.