UKRAINE: Zelensky - Hero of the Nation

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During the past few weeks, one voice has united the brave, fighting Ukrainians alongside Europe and other allies to bring awareness to what is going on in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That voice has been none other than Ukrainian President, Mr Volodymyr Zelensky. Rising from a TV show comedian to a strong, inspirational hero.

His famous quote, ''I need ammunition, not a ride." has become the beacon of hope for many Ukrainians. Their president, brave as ever, decided to stay in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, to fight and lead his people. Even in the face of fear. Even in the face of the threat of assassination. Even in the threat of an ambush by the Russian army. He stayed, alongside his team.

Volodymyr Zelensky at the podium where he films his daily social media updates

But who is the man behind this hero image? What motivated him to become president? And where did he find the courage to be so brave in the face of immense danger?

BIOGRAPHY

The comic turned president is 44 years old, being born on 25 January 1978, in Kryvyi Rih. This is the largest city in central Ukraine, based in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. He grew up as a native Russian speaker and has a Jewish background. Before becoming a president, he studied law at Kyiv National Economic University. However, Mr Zelensky decided on a bit of an unusual career after he finished his studies and became a comic and actor.

Volodymyr Zelensky and Olena Zelenska

He set up his own production company, Kvartal 95, that produced films, cartoons, and TV shows. In fact, it also gave us the now famous show Servant of the People, in which Zelensky played a high school teacher turned president. In 2018, alongside fellow employees of Kvartal 95, the comedian created a political party, also called Servant of the People, and announced his presidential candidacy on 31 December 2018. Coincidentally (or not!), the announcement came at the same time as the then-current President Petro Poroshenko's New Year's Eve address.

Volodymyr Zelensky is married to Olena Zelenska, whom he met while studying at university. They have been married since September 2003 and have two children together. They have a 17-year-old daughter, Oleksandra, and a 9-year-old son, Kyrylo.

Zelensky and his wife Olena, and children Oleksandra and Kyrylo

Olena said that she found out about her husband's ambitions to be Ukraine's next President from social media. When she asked Volodymyr why he did not say anything to her, he simply answered that he forgot. This choice did not impress the First Lady of Ukraine initially as she was a very private person. Now, thrust in the international spotlight, she preforms her duties from her social media accounts by sharing pictures of the various victims of this unfortunate war and reminding people to donate and bring awareness the cause. Her passions include gender equality and trying to improve the quality and variety of nutrition provided in Ukrainian schools.

Olena Zelenska and daughter Oleksandra

On 21 April 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky was elected as the 6th President of Ukraine. After that, on 20 May 2019, he was sworn into office and started to lead Ukraine closer and closer to West and away from Mother Russia.

ENEMY NR. 1 OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

At first, things looked promising for the freshly elected leader of the nation. As part of his presidential election, Zelensky promised that he would try to bring peace to the Donbas region and tried to negotiate a treaty with the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. Other things he promised was to fight corruption in the government, develop the economy and restart the ''judicial system'' to create trust in the leadership again.

As a native Russian speaker, Mr Zelensky was a key part into bringing the Ukrainian and Russian speakers of the country together and creating more unity amongst the population. However, after two years of trying to bring peace, things went awry in 2021 with Russia falling into disenchantment of the comic turned President.

Zelensky when the positive election result came through that he won

It started in the early part of 2021, when Russia sent some three thousand paratroopers to the border between Russia and Ukraine. This was in response to the Ukrainian's crackdown onto Viktor Medvedchuk, who is  very close to Mr Putin. In fact, Medvedchuk is the godfather of Putin's youngest daughter. 

After that, in late March 2021, more Russian troops moved towards the border for the infamous Zapad 2021 military exercise. When Ukraine expressed their worry about the military build up, Russia responded that this has nothing to do with other countries and it is a matter of national security.

Throughout the year in 2021, there was a slow, deliberate chess game of powers between Ukraine and Russia. From expelled diplomats to more military and naval build ups, the tension between the two countries escalated even more. In October 2021, another Russian military build up was happening. In November 2021, Russia had amassed almost 100,000 troops on the border between the two nations.

From then on, things got even more downhill. During the last months of 2021, even more military personnel and equipment came to the border, and also into Belarus. During January 2022, Russia started to evacuate their diplomatic staff from Kyiv. From there, as we know, they executed various false flag operations to incite a response from the Ukrainians, with the eventual recognition of the DPR and LPR by the Kremlin on February 21st. And three days later, the war started.

In pursuit of the "denazification and demilitarization" of Ukraine, the Kremlin has issued orders to eliminate Volodymyr Zelensky and his family. Presidential adviser, Mikhail Podolyak, said recently to a local news outlet that he believes that the President of Ukraine has survived ''more than a dozen assassination attempts” since the start of the invasion. 

Despite the constant stream of killers, Zelensky still stays in the capital, fighting and inspiring the local Kyiv residents. According to Podolyak, they receive good intelligence about these assassination groups, and the Ukrainian authorities eliminate them effectively. Other news outlets I read cite that groups such as Wagner Group mercenaries, Chechens, and Spetzas Special Forces soldiers are amongst the potential murderers sent to finish Zelensky off.

ACTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA AND POSITIVE PROPAGANDA

Volodymyr Zelensky has 15.7 million followers on Instagram, 5.3 million followers on Twitter, and 2.5 million followers on Facebook. As an entertainer, he has always known the power of media but now, in the wartime situation, it is more important than ever.

President Zelensky showing he is still in Kyiv in the early days of the war 

In 2019, Zelensky's presidential campaign was mostly on social media. And during his presidency, this tool was prominent in his leading style. These days, he has multiple posts per day detailing the many conversations that he has with various world leaders. Another key action he does is filming daily videos about the success of the Ukrainian defence forces on that day, how the invaders are failing and a call to arms to the population to hold on just a little bit longer.

These posts strike a chord in the heart of every follower around the world. One can see many posts where people are logging into one of his social media accounts just to check he is alive. These posts of hope and strength brings a moral boost to the civilians and keeps them focused on the fight just a bit longer. As the war drags on, people start to get tired and lose their motivation to fight. Zelensky’s posts also reflect this.

Zelensky visiting Ukrainian troops based in Donbas region 
CONCLUSION

Zelensky has stepped up to the challenge as a war leader in these dark times. From a comic, he took on this sombre role with grace, strength and still holding on a sense of humour. We can see from the way that the world reacts, world leaders talk about him, and the general high spirit and motivation of the Ukrainian population is that his tactics work, and the positive propaganda has the desired effect.

I hope that the President of Ukraine survives this dark time, and he and his family can rebuild Ukraine after the war ends.

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