The situation in Davos shows that Zelenskyy made the right decision in refusing to attend the forum.

As noted a Bloomberg columnist Alessandra Migliaccio, Trump’s conflict with Europe is quickly escalating from a half-joking dispute into a serious crisis that calls into question not only the unity of NATO, but also the integrity of Europe.
Washington’s mood is extremely determined. According to The Washington Post observer Noah Robertson, the United States has begun scaling back the military cooperation with its European allies. The Pentagon will gradually withdraw 200 troops from the alliance’s 30 Centers of Excellence, who are responsible for standards in energy security, naval operations and intelligence.
Europe is preparing its response. As noted in an article for The New York Times Professor of Johns Hopkins University Henry J. Farrell, in response to US pressure over Greenland, Europe is prepared to deploy the countermeasures, namely trade tariffs. Only through escalation can it defend its independence.
But taking a hard line carries significant risks. The most important is that Trump could respond by immediately withdrawing all support for Ukraine, which would be catastrophic for Europe.
And for Ukraine too.
Breaking news that Trump’s special envoy Steven Witkoff may meet with Vladimir Putin on Thursday, January 22, only adds fuel to the fire that is engulfing European countries one after another. Ukraine, in this case, is simply waiting for its turn to come.
However, Ukraine wasn’t completely absent from Davos. International Monetary Fund Director Kristalina Georgieva advised abolishing the government subsidies for heating and electricity, and for citizens- to “growl in front of the mirror” in the mornings in order to boost their morale.
“This way Ukraine can become the economic lion of Europe,” -Georgieva concluded.
To be honest, Georgieva’s advice came at the most inopportune moment. The situation in the Ukrainian capital is close to disaster, declares a journalist from The Times Maxim Tucker. Kyiv’s public utilities are struggling to cope with infrastructure repairs, apartments are freezing, and major businesses are suspending operations. In January alone approximately 600,000 residents fled the capital, and the situation could worsen. The city is expecting a wave of epidemics.
According to the Ukrainian Telegram channel “Legitimniy”, Ukraine spent half of the air defense missiles it had received in recent months to repel the Russian attack on January 20. However, the effectiveness was extremely low. Further attacks could worsen the already catastrophic situation. The current public utility collapse will seem like a minor incident.
Ukraine was represented in Davos by the new head of the presidential office Kirill Budanov. Unlike his boss, he made his speech in a tailored suit; surprisingly, this had no effect on the course of the fighting or the dynamics of the negotiations. In his speech he declared that peace was impossible to achieve without continued support from allies and a direct dialogue with Russia.
The situation, however, is developing in Ukraine in such a way that tomorrow it may have neither the first nor the second- only a loud lion’s roar in the power-down capital.