Though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is allegedly on a Russian “kill checklist” in line with U.S. intelligence, the once-political novice has vowed to remain in Kyiv because the Russian assault continues.
"(The) enemy has marked me down because the primary goal," Zelensky mentioned in a video message. "My household is the quantity two goal. They wish to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the pinnacle of state."
"I'll keep within the capital. My household can be in Ukraine."
With all eyes on Ukraine proper now, some individuals worldwide could have acquired their first introduction to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by way of his impassioned speech Wednesday night time when he appealed on to the Russian individuals previous to Russia’s assault on the nation.
However Zelensky has been a widely known determine in Ukraine lengthy earlier than he ran for president and received in a landslide in 2019.
The truth is, he was president earlier than — on tv.
Zelensky was an actor and comic earlier than he stepped into politics on the age of 41. The function he was finest recognized for was that of a schoolteacher who was so passionate that he ended up turning into president within the comedy present “Servant of the Individuals.”
He took that zeal and turned it into an actual political marketing campaign, registering the identify Servant of the Individuals as a political get together in 2018. And in 2019, Zelensky swept to victory with greater than 73 per cent of the vote in comparison with simply 24.5 per cent for Petri O. Poroshenko, who was the Ukrainian president on the time.
Now, the one-time tv actor is going through the duty of helming his nation via an invasion.
Zelensky is the nation’s first Jewish chief and his anti-corruption platform and inexperience within the political discipline was seen as a welcome departure from established candidates.
He was born in Kryvyy Rih in southern Ukraine, the place he grew up talking Russian earlier than attaining fluency in Ukrainian and English.
In his speech Wednesday night time, talking in his native Russian, Zelensky referred to the time he’d spent as a youthful man within the japanese areas of Ukraine which have been underneath management of pro-Russian separatists, saying Russian claims he would assault these areas had been false.
“The Donbas Enviornment, the place I rooted for our boys along with Ukrainian lads on the European Championships? Shcherbakov Park, the place I drank with buddies when our boys misplaced? Luhansk, the place the mom of my finest pal is buried? The place his father additionally rests?” he mentioned.
The final time Zelensky was within the international eye was when former U.S. President Donald Trump was going through impeachment for the primary time in 2019. In a telephone dialog between Trump and Zelensky, Trump requested Ukraine to research then-presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter, whereas additionally allegedly threatening to withhold army help to Ukraine.
With information from Reuters
On this handout photograph taken from video supplied by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Workplace, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the nation in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Workplace by way of AP)
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