"And also undermines Russian claims of Ukrainians being nazis and carrying out genocide against ethnic Russians.."
First off, before I'm attacked as a Putin lover, I think he's a vile man and a war criminal. I do
suggest though that you do a bit more research before making declarations about Zelensky. The "special forces" in Ukrainian army, the Azov Brigade are ultra nationalist neo Nazis who wear swastikas and have proclaimed their aim is to cleanse Ukraine of ethnic Russians and other groups they see as undesirable - Roma, LGBGT community, Muslims (The Azov Brigade have videos showing them coating bullets in pig fat to shoot muslims), migrants. The leaders of opposition parties in Ukraine have been jailed under Zelensky. Under his Presidency journalists who are critical of his Government are sacked from their posts and censored. Nazis aren't just defined as people who hate Jews. Nazis are ultra nationalist, white supremacists and Ukraine is one of the centres of neo Nazism in Europe.
The ethnic Russians, who are in the majority in Crimea felt so threatened by the right wing ultra nationalists in Ukraine who were killing ethnic Russians in other parts of the country including setting fire to a town hall & burning people to death, that over 80% of them voted to become part of Russia where they thought they would be protected. The majority ethnic Russian population in Donetsk and Luhansk also feel the same threat. The Azov Brigade have been particularly active in Donetsk. Ukraine is the only country with a neo-Nazi battalion in its army. It has been condemned by the UN Commissioner for Human Rights. If Zelensky isn't a Nazi himself then he certainly hasn't done anything to condemn those that are and is happy to let them serve in his army.
Zelensky doesn't seem to be that bright. He's been played as a fool by the US, who are the main drivers of NATO. Now he pleads for a no fly zone which NATO aren't going to give because they know how this could lead to nuclear war. The US is prepared to sacrifice Ukraine to increase their geopolitical power - they now have international consent for crippling economic warfare on Russia and have increased support for NATO. Russia may get Kyiv but it will bog them down for years. In the meantime the US increases its hegemony. This war need never have started if Donetsk and Luhansk had been allowed to become semi-autonomous regions, as was promised to them in negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, which Ukraine then backed out of. It need never have started if Zelensky had been more circumspect and forward thinking when the possibility of joining NATO was being whispered in his ear by the US, who have now pulled back leaving the citizens of Ukraine to suffer. It might never have started if the US hadn't rejected the putative deal agreed by Macron and Putin last month. This war is all to the advantage of the US and to the detriment of the people of Ukraine and, ultimately the people of Russia. That good looking, charming man, who can't possibly hold right-wing fascist views, wants photos of children on desks (does that include Muslim children, migrants' children, ethnic Russian children?), and has a beautiful and intelligent wife holds a lot of the blame along with Putin and Biden.