FULLERTON, Calif. — In 1984, when Dr. Mikhail Gofman was born in a small town in eastern Ukraine, the country was a part of the Soviet Union.

But when the U.S.S.R. collapsed, Ukraine became independent, and Gofman says criminal gangs emerged in his community. His family left and found refuge in the U.S.

“I very distinctly remember that fear,” he said.

Flash forward 30 years, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent nearly 200,000 troops into Ukraine to take over and, as some suspect, try to reassemble the Soviet Union.

However, it’s not without a fight from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He’s fiercely leading his nation from the capital of Kyiv even as it’s being bombarded by Russian shells and missiles, all while trying to rally the western world to help Ukraine in its fight.

Now a professor of at California State University-Fullerton, Gofman said this crisis has generated respect for Zelenskyy among Ukrainians. He compares the Ukraine president to Winston Churchill, who led Britain through its darkest hours of World War II.

“Churchill said, ‘No, we’ll fight in the beaches, we’ll fight in the streets,’ and that’s basically what Zelenskyy has been [saying],” Gofman said. “[Zelenskyy] has been so great with his speeches in communicating not only with his own people, but communicating to the outside world in a way that they can relate.”

On Wednesday morning, Zelenskyy delivered a passionate speech to Congress. He compared the war in Ukraine to Pearl Harbor and 9/11, two of America’s darkest days. He expressed gratitude for the U.S. help so far but asked for more.

Hours later, President Joe Biden signed off on an additional $800 million in security assistance, with no mention of Zelenskyy’s No. 1 ask: a no-fly zone over his country and fighter jets to protect the skies.

When asked about the no-fly zone, Biden told reporters, “I’m not going to comment on that right now.”

Even still, Zelenskyy was able to rally empathy and support from Republicans and Democrats in Washington.

“Zelenskyy is sort of a reminder that freedom isn’t always free,” said Gofman. “And I think it can make [Americans] a lot stronger and help realign our values and reaffirm our commitment to democracy.”