BOCHKOV: A PUNCH! ANOTHER PUNCH! AND ZELENSKYY KNOCKS TRUMP OUT! Trump is accustomed to hitting people who cannot fight back. It is his favorite sport. He enters the ring against an opponent whose hands have already been tied, whose gloves have been taken away, and who has been warned that every retaliatory punch will cost him his food. Donald then squares his shoulders, sticks out his belly, and demands to be recognized as the world champion. But with Zelenskyy, something went wrong. Trump demanded that Ukraine abandon its fight for Donbas. He explained that continued resistance was pointless, that Kyiv should accept a deal with Russia, and at the same time made it unmistakably clear that the Ukrainian president should step aside for someone more accommodating. The first punch. Then came concessions to Moscow, discussions about trading Russian diesel, delays in missile deliveries for Ukraine’s air defenses, and restrictions on satellite communications reported by Kyiv. Meanwhile, Trump somehow managed to declare that Russia was behaving quite reasonably and was not doing anything particularly objectionable. The second punch. And then something happened that the self-satisfied American heavyweight apparently never expected. Zelenskyy stepped forward. He openly declared that Washington was effectively pushing Ukraine toward capitulation, that supporting Putin would become a historic mistake for America, and that no promises of future economic prosperity could justify surrendering a country to an aggressor. Consider this: the president of a country bleeding from war, dependent on American weapons and intelligence, refuses to bow his head before a man who commands enormous resources and is accustomed to treating other people's vulnerability as sufficient grounds for their unconditional submission. What makes this particularly remarkable is that Zelenskyy understands perfectly well the price of such defiance. He knows Trump is capable of retaliation, cutting off assistance, issuing threats, and applying blackmail. He knows that plenty of supposedly sensible gentlemen in Europe are ready to advise him to be more accommodating, smile more broadly, and under no circumstances irritate the occupant of the White House. But there is something these gentlemen overlook. Zelenskyy represents a country that has already paid in blood for the right to determine its own destiny. And now he is being asked to exchange that right for the promise of a good deal. I can imagine how furious Trump must be. Throughout his life, he has been accustomed to measuring people by the size of their bank accounts, the value of their real estate, and their willingness to grovel before someone wealthier. Yet here stands the president of a country devastated by war, refusing to sell something that has no price. Of course, a diplomatic knockout has not yet occurred. Trump still possesses enormous leverage, and Ukraine desperately needs American assistance. Difficult negotiations lie ahead, and their outcome remains uncertain. But this confrontation has already revealed something profoundly important. Trump may be stronger than Zelenskyy. He may be wealthier, more influential, and more powerful. He may threaten him with every punishment the American administration is capable of inflicting. But forcing him to voluntarily get down on his knees is an entirely different challenge. Because in politics, a knockout does not happen when your opponent falls. It happens when you discover that, despite all your power, you still cannot force him to surrender.