Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.Photo: Ukrainian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty
One year after Russian PresidentVladimir Putinlaunched an invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the world spotlight is firmly on Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s wartime president who launched his career as a comedic actor.
Here’s more about the 45-year-old leader.
After earning a law degree from the Kryvyi Rih Institute of Economics, Zelenskyy entered theentertainment industry, joining a competitive comedy team and going on to work as an actor.
Eventually, that led to roles in major feature films and work as an entertainment executive and, in 2015, a starring role as the president of Ukraine on the popular television seriesServant of the People.
In some ways, Zelenskyy himself went on to do the same.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, first lady Olena Zelenska and their two children.olenazelenska_official/Instagram
He was elected after running a largely virtual campaign
Observers say much of Zelenskyy’s political success can be attributed to the unrest andrevolution of 2014, when popular protest brought down Ukraine’s then-President Viktor Yanukovich.
By 2019, the disenchantment with the country’s political elite had become even further ingrained, helping propel a political outsider to the highest office.
Zelenskyy — whoran with no party affiliationand no clear team of expert advisers until days before the election — attended no in-person campaign events and held no rallies, instead turning to social media to make a name for himself.
After appearing in a slew of YouTube and Instagram posts and making television appearances, he handily won a first-round election and later, arunoff, becoming Ukraine’s sixth president.
Zelenskyy is married to Ukrainian architect and screenwriterOlena Volodymyrivna Zelenskaand the couple have two children: Oleksandra and Kyrylo.
He played a passive role in Donald Trump’s first impeachment
He became an international hero after finding himself in the cross-hairs
Zelenskyy campaigned oneasing tensions with Russia, but it was not enough to dissuade Putin from amassing troops on the border last February as he began to claim parts of Ukraine belonged to Russia.
In atelevised address delivered as it became clear that the Russian invasion would soon begin, Zelenskyy said Ukraine “will not give anything to anyone.”
He continued: “This is our choice. We are on our land. We’re not afraid of anyone and everyone.”
While some analysts worried early on that he was too politically inexperienced to stand up to the Russian autocrat, Zelenskyy has become something of an international hero and a symbol for strength.
Even as Russian troops began to enter Ukraine, and Russian bombs and missiles exploded within its borders, Zelenskyy refused to leave, often taking to social media in his now-trademark military outfit, a symbol of patriotism with his countrymen who have taken up arms amid the war.
His selfie videos from the capital,vowing to continue the fight, quickly went viral. As did his rebuff of a U.S. offer to evacuate him from danger, when he declared, “I need ammunition, not a ride.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty
In May 2022, Zelenskyy was awarded theJFK Profile in Courageaward, withCaroline Kennedy, the daughter of late PresidentJohn F. Kennedy, saying the leader had “inspired the world.” Zelenskyy accepted the award remotely as the invasion dragged on.
“In a few exceptional cases when their political courage has inspired the world, we have given the Profile in Courage Award to an international elected official — and tonight is one of those,” Kennedy, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Japan from 2013 until 2017 and was recentlyconfirmed as U.S. ambassadorto Australia, said at the Sunday evening ceremony. “President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine is doing the impossible every day.”
In December of last year, Zelenskyy was again recognizedfor hiscourageous wartime leadershipwhenTimemagazine named him — along with “the spirit of Ukraine” — its2022 Person of the Year.
“Zelenskyy’s success as a wartime leader has relied on the fact that courage is contagious,“Timereporter Simon Shuster wrote about Zelenskyy’s actions in the early moments of the invasion, when he famously refused to leave Kyiv, inspiring his people to fight and earning the status of a wartime hero around the world.
“It spread through Ukraine’s political leadership in the first days of the invasion, as everyone realized the President had stuck around,” added Shuster.
In the piece, Shuster also noted that just two months after the first invasion, Zelenskyy told him that he had aged andchanged as a result of the war,describing it as “all this wisdom that I never wanted.”
Explaining that Russia had been looking to capture Ukraine for the past century, Zelenskyy added that he intended to make the current invasion their final ever attempt — though he acknowledged it would take more time and sadly require lots more sacrifice.
“Later we will be judged,” he toldTime. “I have not finished this great, important action for our country. Not yet.”
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty
He visited the U.S. in December to meet with President Biden
In December 2022, he made hisfirst trip outside his home countrysince the Russian invasion began flying to Washington, D.C. to meet with President Biden.
In a statement issued at the time, White House press secretaryKarine Jean-Pierrenoted that the visit comes 300 days after “Russia launched a brutal assault against Ukraine.”
“The visit will underscore the United States' steadfast commitment to supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes, including through the provision of economic, humanitarian, and military assistance,” Jean-Pierre added.
Biden and Zelenskyy exchanged gifts and held a joint press conference before the Ukrainian leader spoke before the U.S. Congress, making the case for continuing to fund Ukraine’s defenses before receiving standing ovations from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
source: people.com
