Ukraine’ President Volodymyr Zelensky is emerging as a national and global hero as he leads his country and people in the face of the Russian invasion.
Zelensky says he is Kremlin’s no.1 target. There's truth to his claims it seems as over the weekend, an assassination attempt on him was foiled and the “Chechen servicemen” sent from Russia were “destroyed.”
Despite the danger to his life, the wartime President refuses to flee the capital. He walks the streets of Kyiv and urges Ukrainians to resist through selfie-style video updates.
A symbol of resistance against Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelensky has won the hearts of his people and he is garnering huge respect all around the globe.
But before he became a politician and eventually a global hero, Zelensky was already used to the spotlight.
Here are a few things you need to know about Ukraine’s wartime President.
He was an actor and a comedian
Before he became the leader of a country of 44 million people, Zelensky was a popular actor and comedian. He is best known for his role in a show called “Servant of the People” in which he plays a foul-mouthed teacher who unexpectedly becomes the president.
A video of Zelensky from the show went viral on social media in which he was seen ranting against corruption in the country. He later used a similar platform for his “real-life” run for office. Zelensky won more than 70% votes in the 2019 elections and defeated former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko.
He won Ukraine’s “Dancing with stars”
Not only is Zelensky a great actor and comedian, but he’s also a good dancer. In 2006, he participated in Ukraine’s version of “Dancing with the stars” and won the competition. A video showing Zelensky on the dance floor viral on social media this week.
He promised to negotiate peace with Russia
Zelensky was elected as president in 2019 after running a campaign promising to negotiate peace with Russia. He also pledged to reduce the power of corrupt oligarchs who control most of Ukraine’s economy.
He is Jewish
Zelensky is Jewish; his family members died in the Holocaust. When Putin accused the Ukrainian government of being Neo-Nazis, Ukrainian President replied, “How can I be a Nazi? Explain it to my grandfather, who went through the entire war in the infantry of the Soviet army, and died a colonel in an independent Ukraine.”
"The Ukraine on your news and Ukraine in real life are two completely different countries — and the main difference between them is: Ours is real. You are told we are Nazis. But could a people who lost more than 8 million lives in the battle against Nazism support Nazism?" he said in a video.
