Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Volodymyr Zelenskyy | |
---|---|
Володимир Зеленський | |
![]() Official portrait, 2019 | |
6th President of Ukraine | |
Assumed office 20 May 2019 | |
Prime Minister | |
Preceded by | Petro Poroshenko |
Personal details | |
Born | Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy 25 January 1978 Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine) |
Political party | Independent[1] |
Other political affiliations | Servant of the People (2018–present) |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Parents |
|
Residence | Mariinskyi Palace |
Education | Kyiv National Economic University (LLB) |
Occupation |
|
Signature | ![]() |
Website | president.gov.ua/en |
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy[a] (Ukrainian: Володимир Олександрович Зеленський (also spelled Zelensky or occassionally Zelenskiy), pronounced [woloˈdɪmɪr olekˈsɑndrowɪdʒ zeˈlɛnʲsʲkɪj]; born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician, former actor and comedian,[4] who is the sixth and current president of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy grew up as a native Russian speaker in Kryvyi Rih, a major city of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in central Ukraine. Prior to his acting career, he obtained a degree in law from the Kyiv National Economic University. He then pursued comedy and created the production company Kvartal 95, which produced films, cartoons, and TV shows including the TV series Servant of the People, in which Zelenskyy played the role of the Ukrainian president. The series aired from 2015 to 2019 and was immensely popular. A political party bearing the same name as the television show was created in March 2018 by employees of Kvartal 95.
Zelenskyy announced his candidacy in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election on the evening of 31 December 2018, alongside the New Year's Eve address of then-president Petro Poroshenko on the TV channel 1+1. A political outsider, he had already become one of the frontrunners in opinion polls for the election. He won the election with 73.23% of the vote in the second round, defeating Poroshenko. He has positioned himself as an anti-establishment and anti-corruption figure.
As president, Zelenskyy has been a proponent of e-government and unity between the Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking parts of the country's population.[5]: 11–13 His communication style heavily utilises social media, particularly Instagram being the most popular Ukrainian influencer with 15 million followers - more than twice as many as the next one as of 2022.[6][5]: 7–10 His party won a landslide victory in a snap legislative election held shortly after his inauguration as president. During his administration, Zelenskyy oversaw the lifting of legal immunity for members of the Verkhovna Rada,[7] the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic recession, and some progress in tackling corruption in Ukraine.[8][9] Critics of Zelenskyy claim that, in taking power away from Ukrainian oligarchs, he has sought to centralise authority and strengthen his personal position.[10][11]
Zelenskyy promised to end Ukraine's protracted conflict with Russia as part of his presidential campaign, and attempted to engage in dialogue with Russian president Vladimir Putin.[12] Zelenskyy's administration faced an escalation of tensions with Russia in 2021, culminating in the launch of an ongoing full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. Zelenskyy's strategy during the Russian military buildup was to calm the Ukrainian populace and assure the international community that Ukraine was not seeking to retaliate.[13] He initially distanced himself from warnings of an imminent war, while also calling for security guarantees and military support from NATO to "withstand" the threat.[14] After the commencement of the invasion, Zelenskyy declared martial law across Ukraine and a general mobilisation of the armed forces. His leadership during the crisis has won him widespread international admiration, and he has been described as a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.[15]
Early life
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy was born to Jewish parents on 25 January 1978 in Kryvyi Rih, then in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.[16][17][18][19] His father, Oleksandr Zelenskyy, is a professor and computer scientist, and the head of the Department of Cybernetics and Computing Hardware at the Kryvyi Rih State University of Economics and Technology; his mother, Rymma Zelenska, used to work as an engineer.[20][21][22] His grandfather, Semyon (Simon) Ivanovych Zelenskyy, served as Infantry reaching the rank of Colonel[4] in the Red Army (in the 57th Guards Motor Rifle Division)[23] during World War II; Semyon's father and three brothers died in the Holocaust.[24][25] Prior to starting elementary school, Zelenskyy lived for four years in the Mongolian city of Erdenet, where his father worked.[17] Zelenskyy grew up speaking Russian.[26][4] At the age of 16, he passed the Test of English as a Foreign Language and received an education grant to study in Israel, but his father did not allow him to go.[27] He later earned a law degree from the Kryvyi Rih Institute of Economics, then a department of Kyiv National Economic University and now part of Kryvyi Rih National University, but did not go on to work in the legal field.[17][28]
Entertainment career
At age 17, he joined the local KVN[29] (a comedy competition) team and was soon invited to join the united Ukrainian team "Zaporizhia-Kryvyi Rih-Transit" which performed in the KVN's Major League and eventually won in 1997.[17][30][31] That same year, he created and headed the Kvartal 95 team which later transformed into the comedy outfit Kvartal 95. From 1998 to 2003, Kvartal 95 performed in the Major League and the highest open Ukrainian league of KVN, the team members spent a lot of the time in Moscow and constantly toured around post-Soviet countries.[17][30] In 2003, Kvartal 95 started producing TV shows for the Ukrainian TV channel 1+1, and in 2005, the team moved to fellow Ukrainian TV channel Inter.[17]
In 2008, he starred in the feature film Love in the Big City, and its sequel, Love in the Big City 2.[17] Zelenskyy continued his movie career with the film Office Romance. Our Time in 2011 and with Rzhevsky Versus Napoleon in 2012.[17] Love in the Big City 3 was released in January 2014.[17] Zelenskyy also played the leading role in the 2012 film 8 First Dates and in sequels which were produced in 2015 and 2016.[17] He recorded the voice of Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian dubbing of Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017).[32]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/%D0%97%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9.jpg/220px-%D0%97%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9.jpg)
Zelenskyy was a member of the board and the general producer of the TV channel Inter from 2010 to 2012.[28]
In August 2014, Zelenskyy spoke out against the intention of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture to ban Russian artists from Ukraine.[33] Since 2015, Ukraine has banned Russian artists and other Russian works of culture from entering Ukraine.[34] In 2018, the romantic comedy Love in the Big City 2 starring Zelenskyy was banned in Ukraine.[35]
After the Ukrainian media had reported that during the war in Donbas Zelenskyy's Kvartal 95 had donated 1 million hryvnias to the Ukrainian army, some Russian politicians and artists petitioned for a ban on his works in Russia.[36][b] Once again, Zelenskyy spoke out against the intention of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture to ban Russian artists from Ukraine.[33]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/KVARTAL_95_Vadim_Chuprina.jpg/220px-KVARTAL_95_Vadim_Chuprina.jpg)
In 2015, Zelenskyy became the star of the television series Servant of the People, where he played the role of the president of Ukraine.[28] In the series, Zelenskyy's character was a high-school history teacher in his 30s who won the presidential election after a viral video showed him ranting against government corruption in Ukraine.
The comedy series Svaty ("In-laws"), in which Zelenskyy appeared, was banned in Ukraine in 2017,[37] but unbanned in March 2019.[38]
Zelenskyy worked mostly in Russian language productions. His first role in the Ukrainian language was the romantic comedy I, You, He, She ,[39] which appeared on the screens of Ukraine in December 2018.[40] The first version of the script was written in Ukrainian but was translated into Russian for the Lithuanian actress Agnė Grudytė. Then the movie was dubbed into Ukrainian.[41]
2019 presidential campaign
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Debates_of_Petro_Poroshenko_and_Vladimir_Zelensky_%282019-04-19%29_02.jpg/220px-Debates_of_Petro_Poroshenko_and_Vladimir_Zelensky_%282019-04-19%29_02.jpg)
In March 2018, members of Zelenskyy's production company Kvartal 95 registered a new political party called Servant of the People – the same name as the television program that Zelenskyy had starred in over the previous three years.[42][43] Although Zelenskyy denied any immediate plans to enter politics and said he had only registered the party name to prevent it being appropriated by others,[44] there was widespread speculation that he was planning to run. As early as October 2018, three months before his campaign announcement and six months before the presidential election, he was already a frontrunner in opinion polls.[45][43] After months of ambiguous statements,[44][43] on 31 December, less than four months from the election, Zelenskyy announced his candidacy for president of Ukraine on the New Year's Eve evening show on the TV channel 1+1.[46] His announcement up-staged the New Year's Eve address of incumbent president Petro Poroshenko on the same channel,[46] which Zelenskyy said was unintentional and attributed to a technical glitch.[47]
Zelenskyy's presidential campaign against Poroshenko was almost entirely virtual.[48][49] He did not release a detailed policy platform[50] and his engagement with mainstream media was minimal;[48][c] he instead reached out to the electorate via social media channels and YouTube clips.[48] In place of traditional campaign rallies, he conducted stand-up comedy routines across Ukraine with his production company Kvartal 95.[52][53] He styled himself as an anti-establishment, anti-corruption figure, although he was not generally described as a populist.[50] He said he wished to restore trust in politicians, "to bring professional, decent people to power" and to "change the mood and timbre of the political establishment".[42][43][54] On 16 April 2019, a few days before the election, 20 Ukrainian news outlets called on Zelenskyy to "stop avoiding journalists".[48] Zelenskyy stated that he was not hiding from journalists but that he did not want to go to talk shows where "people of the old power" were "just doing PR" and that he did not have time to satisfy all interview requests.[55]
Prior to the elections, Zelenskyy presented a team that included former Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk and others.[56][51] During the campaign, concerns were raised over his links to the oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi.[57] President Poroshenko and his supporters claimed that Zelenskyy's victory would benefit Russia.[58][59][60][61] On 19 April 2019 at Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex presidential debates were held in the form of a show.[62][63][64] In his introductory speech, Zelenskyy acknowledged that in 2014 he voted for Poroshenko, but "I was mistaken. We were mistaken. We voted for one Poroshenko, but received another. The first appears when there are video cameras, the other Petro sends Medvedchuk privietiki (greetings) to Moscow".[62] Although Zelenskyy initially said he would only serve a single term, he walked back this promise in May 2021, saying he had not yet made up his mind.[65]
Zelenskyy stated that as president he would develop the economy and attract investment to Ukraine through "a restart of the judicial system" and restoring confidence in the state.[66] He also proposed a tax amnesty and a 5 % flat tax for big business which could be increased "in dialogue with them and if everyone agrees".[66] According to Zelenskyy, if people would notice that his new government "works honestly from the first day", they would start paying their taxes.[66]
Zelenskyy clearly won the first round of elections on 31 March 2019.[67] In the second round, on 21 April 2019, he received 73% of the vote to Poroshenko's 25%, and was elected President of Ukraine.[68][69] Polish president Andrzej Duda was one of the first European leaders to congratulate Zelenskyy.[70] French president Emmanuel Macron received Zelenskyy at the Élysée Palace in Paris on 12 April 2019.[71] On 22 April, U.S. president Donald Trump congratulated Zelenskyy on his victory over the telephone.[72][73] European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker and European Council president Donald Tusk also issued a joint letter of congratulations and stated that the European Union (EU) will work to speed up the implementation of the remainder of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area.[74]
Presidency
Presidential styles of Volodymyr Zelenskyy | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Reference style | Його Високоповажність, Президент України. "His Excellency, the President of Ukraine" |
Spoken style | Президент України. "President of Ukraine" |
Alternative style | Пане Президенте. "Mr President" |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Official_visit_to_Germany.jpg/220px-Official_visit_to_Germany.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Lukashenko_and_Zelenskyi_%28Oct_2019%29.jpg/220px-Lukashenko_and_Zelenskyi_%28Oct_2019%29.jpg)
Zelenskyy was inaugurated on 20 May 2019.[75] Various foreign officials attended the ceremony in Ukraine's parliament (Verkhovna Rada), including Salome Zourabichvili (Georgia), Kersti Kaljulaid (Estonia), Raimonds Vējonis (Latvia), Dalia Grybauskaitė (Lithuania), János Áder (Hungary), Maroš Šefčovič (European Union), and Rick Perry (United States).[76] Zelenskyy is the first Jewish president; with Volodymyr Groysman as Prime Minister, Ukraine became the first country other than Israel to have a Jewish head of state and head of government.[19] In his inaugural address, Zelenskyy dissolved the then Ukrainian parliament and called for early parliamentary elections (which had originally been due to be held in October of that year).[77] One of Zelenskyy's coalition partners, the People's Front, opposed the move and withdrew from the ruling coalition.[78]
On 28 May, Zelenskyy restored the Ukrainian citizenship of Mikheil Saakashvili.[79]
Zelenskyy's first major proposal to change the electoral system was rejected by the Ukrainian parliament.[80]
In addition, on 6 June, lawmakers refused to include Zelenskyy's key initiative on reintroducing criminal liability for illegal enrichment in the parliament's agenda, and instead included a similar bill proposed by a group of deputies.[81][82] In June 2019 it was announced that the president's third major initiative, which seeks to remove immunity from lawmakers, diplomats and judges, would be submitted after the July 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election.[83] This initiative was completed on 3 September, when the new parliament passed a bill stripping lawmakers of legal immunity, delivering Zelenskyy a legislative victory by fulfilling one of his key campaign promises.[84]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Pence_and_US_delegation_meets_with_Zelensky_in_Warsaw.jpg/220px-Pence_and_US_delegation_meets_with_Zelensky_in_Warsaw.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Volodymyr_Zelensky_and_Donald_Trump.jpg/220px-Volodymyr_Zelensky_and_Donald_Trump.jpg)
On 8 July, Zelenskyy ordered the cancellation of the annual Kyiv Independence Day Parade on Maidan Nezalezhnosti, citing costs. Despite this, Zelenskyy highlighted that the day would "honor heroes" on Independence Day, however the "format will be new".[85][86][87] He also proposed to spend the money that would have been used to finance the parade on veterans.[88]
In 2020, Zelenskyy's party proposed reforms to Ukraine's media laws with the intent to increase competition and loosen the dominance of Ukrainian oligarchs on television and radio broadcasters. Critics said it risked increasing media censorship in Ukraine[89] because its clause of criminal responsibility for the distribution of disinformation could be abused.[90]
Zelenskyy was criticized for a secret trip to Oman in January 2020 that was not published on his official schedule and on which he appeared to mix a personal holiday with government business. Although the president's office said the trip had been paid for by Zelenskyy himself and not with government money, Zelenskyy came under heavy criticism for the lack of transparency around the trip, which was compared unfavourably to a secret vacation his predecessor Petro Poroshenko took in the Maldives, and which Zelenskyy himself had criticized at the time.[91][92]
In January 2021, parliament passed a bill updating and reforming Ukraine's referendum laws,[93] which Ukraine's Constitutional Court had declared unconstitutional in 2018.[94] Fixing the referendum law had been one of Zelenskyy's campaign promises.[93]
In June 2021, Zelenskyy submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a bill creating a public registry of Ukraine's oligarchs, banning them from participating in privatizations of state-owned companies, and forbidding them from contributing financially to politicians. Opposition party leaders supported Zelenskyy's goal of reducing oligarchs' influence on politics in Ukraine but were critical of his approach, saying the public register would be both dangerous, as it concentrated power in the president; and ineffective, since oligarchs were merely a "symbol" of more deeply-rooted corruption.[95] The bill was passed into law in September 2021.[96]
Cabinets and administration
Zelenskyy appointed Andriy Bohdan as head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine. Prior to this, Bohdan had been the lawyer of Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi.[97] Under the rules of Lustration in Ukraine, introduced in 2014 following Euromaidan, Bohdan is not entitled to hold any state office until 2024 (because of his government post during the Second Azarov Government).[98] Bohdan, however, contended that because heading the presidential administration is not considered civil service work, lustration did not apply to him.[99] A number of the members of the Presidential Administration Zelenskyy appointed were former colleagues from his former production company, Kvartal 95,[97] including Ivan Bakanov, who became deputy head of the Ukrainian Secret Service.[100] Former Deputy Foreign Minister Olena Zerkal declined an appointment as deputy head of the presidential administration, but did agree to serve as the Ukrainian representative of the international courts concerning Russia.[101] Zelenskyy's requests to replace the foreign minister, defence minister, chief prosecutor and head of Ukraine's security service were rejected by parliament.[102][103] Zelenskyy also dismissed and replaced 20 of the governors of Ukraine's 24 oblasts.[104]
Honcharuk government
In the 21 July 2019 parliamentary election, Zelenskyy's political party, Servant of the People, won the first single-party majority in modern Ukrainian history in parliament, with 43 % of the party-list vote. His party gained 254 of the 424 seats.[105]
Following the elections, Zelenskyy nominated Oleksiy Honcharuk as prime minister, who was quickly confirmed by parliament. Parliament also confirmed Andrii Zahorodniuk as defence minister, Vadym Prystaiko as foreign minister and Ivan Bakanov as head of the SBU.[106] Arsen Avakov, a controversial figure due to longstanding corruption allegations,[107] was kept on as interior minister, with Honcharuk arguing that the relatively inexperienced government needed experienced administrators and that Avakov had been "'drawn red lines' that cannot be crossed."[108]
Zelenskyy dismissed Bohdan as head of his presidential administration on 11 February 2020 and appointed Andriy Yermak as his successor the same day.[109]
Shmyhal government
On 6 March 2020, the Honcharuk government gave way to the government of Denys Shmyhal. At the time, there was disquiet in the press over the hasty departure of Honcharuk.[110] In his 4 March address to the Rada,[111] Zelenskyy recommitted to reforms domestic and financial, and remarked that he "cannot always become a psychologist for people, a crisis manager for someone, a collector who requires honestly earned money, and a nanny of the ministry in charge."[citation needed] By September 2020, Zelenskyy's approval ratings had fallen to less than 32 %.[112]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/%D0%A0%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%B7%D0%B8%D1%82_%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B0_%D0%A3%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%97%D0%BD%D0%B8_%D0%B4%D0%BE_%D0%A2%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%86%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%97_%D0%A0%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BF%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%BA%D0%B8_05.jpg/220px-%D0%A0%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%B7%D0%B8%D1%82_%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B0_%D0%A3%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%97%D0%BD%D0%B8_%D0%B4%D0%BE_%D0%A2%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%86%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%97_%D0%A0%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BF%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%BA%D0%B8_05.jpg)
On 24 March 2021, Zelenskyy signed the Decree 117/2021 approving the "strategy for de-occupation and reintegration of the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol."[113]
Attempts to end the Donbas conflict
One of Zelenskyy's central campaign promises had been to end the war in Donbas and resolve the Russia-sponsored separatist movement there.[114] On 3 June, Zelenskyy appointed former president Leonid Kuchma as Ukraine's representative in the Tripartite Contact Group for a settlement in the conflict.[115] On 11 July 2019, Zelenskyy held his first telephone conversation with Russian president Vladimir Putin, during which he urged Putin to enter into talks mediated by European countries.[116][117] The two leaders also discussed the exchange of prisoners held by both sides.[117] In October 2019, Zelenskyy announced a preliminary deal struck with the separatists, under which the Ukrainian government would respect elections held in the region in exchange for Russia withdrawing its unmarked troops.[114] The deal was met with heavy criticism and protests by both politicians and the Ukrainian public. Detractors noted that elections held in Donbas were unlikely to be free and fair, that the separatists had long driven out most pro-Ukrainian residents out of the region to ensure a pro-Russia majority, and that it would be impossible to ensure Russia kept its end of the agreement.[114] Zelenskyy defended his negotiations, saying the elections would not be held before a Russian withdrawal.[118] The agreement failed to ease the conflict, as the separatists continued their attacks and Russia continued providing them with weapons and ammunition.[119] Several Ukrainian nationalist militias and former militias also refused to accept the agreement, including the far-right Azov fighters in the Luhansk region of Donbas. Zelenskyy met personally with some of these groups and tried to convince them to surrender their unregistered weapons and accept the peace accord. Andriy Biletsky, the leader of the far-right National Corps and first commander of Azov, accused Zelenskyy of being disrespectful to army veterans and of acting on behalf of the Kremlin by leaving Ukrainians vulnerable to Russian aggression.[120][121] Ultimately, the peace deal failed to reduce the violence, much less end the war.[119]
In December 2019, Russia and Ukraine agreed to resume talks mediated by France and Germany under the so-called Normandy Format, which had been abandoned in 2016; it was Zelensky's first face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin.[122] In July 2020, Zelenskyy announced a formal ceasefire with the separatists — the more than twentieth such attempt since the war began in 2014.[123] Although the ceasefire was frequently violated over the next few years and overall violence remained high, ceasefire violations in 2020 did decrease by over 50% compared to the previous year.[124]
UIA Flight 752
On 8 January 2020, the Presidential Office announced that Volodymyr Zelenskyy was cutting his trip to Oman short due to the Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 plane crash in nearby Iran the same day.[125] The same day, internet news site Obozrevatel.com released information that on 7 January 2020, Ukrainian politician of the Opposition Platform — For Life Viktor Medvedchuk – who has exclusive relations with the current president of Russia – may have arrived in Oman.[126][127] Soon, rumors began that Zelenskyy may have had some additional meetings beside the ones that were announced.[128] On 14 January 2020, Andriy Yermak dismissed the rumors as speculations and baseless conspiracy theories,[129] while Medvedchuk stated that the plane was used by his older daughter's family to fly from Oman to Moscow.[130] Later, Yermak contacted the on-line newspaper Ukrainian Truth and gave more details about the visit to Oman and the plane crash in Iran.[131]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Meeting_of_Volodymyr_Zelensky_and_Mohammed_bin_Rashid_Al_Maktoum_%2815-02-2021%29.jpg/220px-Meeting_of_Volodymyr_Zelensky_and_Mohammed_bin_Rashid_Al_Maktoum_%2815-02-2021%29.jpg)
On 17 January 2020, the presidential appointee Minister of Foreign Affairs Vadym Prystaiko was unable to give answers during the "times of questions to the government" in parliament when the people's deputies of Ukraine asked him about the visit's official agenda, the invitation from Oman, officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who were preparing the visit, as well as how the president actually crossed the border while visiting Oman.[132][133] On 20 January 2020, Prystaiko followed up by giving a briefing to the press in the Office of the president of Ukraine and saying that he would explain everything about the visit that when the time came.[134]
Foreign relations
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/210831-D-BM568-1144_%2851416775670%29.jpg/220px-210831-D-BM568-1144_%2851416775670%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/President_Joe_Biden_and_President_Volodymyr_Zelensky.jpg/220px-President_Joe_Biden_and_President_Volodymyr_Zelensky.jpg)
Zelenskyy's first official trip abroad as president was to Brussels in June 2019, where he met with European Union and NATO officials.[135]
In August 2019, Zelenskyy promised to lift the moratorium on exhuming Polish mass graves in Ukraine after the previous Ukrainian government banned the Polish side from carrying out any exhumations of Polish victims of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army-perpetrated Volhynian massacres, following the removal of a memorial to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in Hruszowice, southeastern Poland.[136]
In September 2019, it was reported that U.S. president Donald Trump had allegedly blocked payment of a congressionally mandated $400 million military aid package to Ukraine to pressure Zelenskyy during a July phone call between the two presidents to investigate alleged wrongdoing by Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden,[61][137] who took a board seat on Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma Holdings.[138] This report was the catalyst for the Trump–Ukraine scandal and the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump. Zelenskyy has denied that he was pressured by Trump and declared that "he does not want to interfere in a foreign election."[139]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/62/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy_and_Ilham_Aliyev_%282019-12-17%29_19.jpg/220px-Volodymyr_Zelenskyy_and_Ilham_Aliyev_%282019-12-17%29_19.jpg)
On a trip to the United States in September 2021, Zelenskyy engaged in talks and commitments with U.S. president Joe Biden,[140] Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm,[141] and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.[142] President Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska also took part in the opening of the Ukrainian House in Washington, D.C.[141] On the same trip, he met with Apple CEO Tim Cook[143] and with Ukrainians in senior positions at Silicon Valley tech companies[144] and spoke at Stanford University.[145] While Zelenskyy was still in the U.S., just after delivering a speech at the United Nations, an assassination attempt was made in Ukraine on Serhiy Shefir, his closest aide. Shefir was unhurt in the attack, although his driver was hospitalized with three bullet wounds.[146]
2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis
In April 2021, in response to Russian military build-up at the Ukrainian borders, Zelenskyy spoke to American president Joe Biden and urged NATO members to speed up Ukraine's request for membership.[147]
On 26 November 2021, Zelenskyy accused Russia and Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov of backing a plan to overthrow his government.[148] Russia denied any involvement in a coup plot and Akhmetov said in a statement that "the information made public by Volodymyr Zelenskiy about attempts to draw me into some kind of coup is an absolute lie. I am outraged by the spread of this lie, no matter what the president's motives are."[149][150] In December 2021, Zelenskyy called for preemptive action against Russia.[151]
On 19 January 2022, Zelenskyy said in a video message that the country's citizens should not panic and appealed to the media to be "methods of mass information and not mass hysteria."[152][153] On 28 January, Zelenskyy called on the West not to create a "panic" in his country over a potential Russian invasion, adding that constant warnings of an "imminent" threat of invasion are putting the economy of Ukraine at risk.[154] Zelenskyy said that "we do not see a bigger escalation" than in early 2021 when Russia's military build-up started.[155] Zelenskyy and U.S. president Joe Biden disagreed on how imminent the threat was.[156][157]
On 19 February, as worries of a Russian invasion of Ukraine grew, Zelenskyy warned a security forum that Western nations should abandon their "appeasement" attitude toward Moscow. "Ukraine has been granted security assurances in exchange for giving up the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal. We don't have any firearms. And there's no security... But we have a right to urge a transformation from an appeasement policy to one that ensures security and peace," he stated.[158]
In the early hours of 24 February, shortly before the start of the Russian invasion, Zelenskyy recorded an address to the citizens of both Ukraine and Russia. In part of the address, he spoke in Russian to the people of Russia, appealing to them to pressure their leadership to prevent war. He also refuted claims of the Russian government about the presence of neo-Nazis in the Ukrainian government and stated that he had no intention of attacking the Donbas region, while highlighting his personal connections to the area.[159]
Russian invasion of Ukraine
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/%D0%97%D0%B0%D1%8F%D0%B2%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%A3%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%97%D0%BD%D0%B8_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D1%87%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE_%D1%83_%D0%84%D0%B2%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B9%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BC%D1%83_%D0%A1%D0%BE%D1%8E%D0%B7%D1%96%2C_1.jpg/220px-%D0%97%D0%B0%D1%8F%D0%B2%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%A3%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%97%D0%BD%D0%B8_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D1%87%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE_%D1%83_%D0%84%D0%B2%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B9%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BC%D1%83_%D0%A1%D0%BE%D1%8E%D0%B7%D1%96%2C_1.jpg)
On the morning of 24 February, Putin announced that Russia was initiating a "special military operation" in the Donbas. Russian missiles struck a number of military targets in Ukraine, and Zelenskyy declared martial law.[160] Zelenskyy also announced that diplomatic relations with Russia were being severed, effective immediately.[161] Later in the day, he announced general mobilisation.[162]
On 25 February, Zelenskyy said that despite Russia's claim that it was targeting only military sites, civilian sites were also being hit.[163] In an early morning address that day, Zelenskyy said that his intelligence services had identified him as Russia's top target, but that he is staying in Kyiv and his family will remain in the country. "They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state", he said.[164]
In the early hours of 26 February, during the most significant assault by Russian troops on the capital of Kyiv, the United States government and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged Zelenskyy to evacuate to a safer location, and both offered assistance for such an effort. Zelenskyy turned down both offers and opted to remain in Kyiv with its defense forces, saying that "the fight is here [in Kyiv]; I need ammunition, not a ride".[165][166][167]
Zelenskyy has gained worldwide recognition as the wartime leader of Ukraine during the Russian invasion; historian Andrew Roberts compared him to Winston Churchill.[168][169] Harvard Political Review said that Zelenskyy "has harnessed the power of social media to become history's first truly online wartime leader, bypassing traditional gatekeepers as he uses the internet to reach out to the people."[170] He has been described as a national hero or a "global hero" by many commentators, including publications such as The Hill, Deutsche Welle, Der Spiegel and USA Today.[168][171][172][173] BBC News and The Guardian have reported that his response to the invasion has received praise even from previous critics.[167][174]
During the invasion, three attempts to assassinate Zelenskyy were prevented due to tips from Russian FSB employees who opposed the invasion. Two of the attempts were carried out by the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary force, and one by the Kadyrovites, the personal guard of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.[175]
While speaking about Ukrainian civilians who were killed by Russian forces, Zelenskyy said:[176]
"We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will punish everyone who committed atrocities in this war... We will find every scum who was shelling our cities, our people, who was shooting the missiles, who was giving orders. You will not have a quiet place on this earth – except for a grave."
Zelenskyy has been called by the Times of Israel the "Jewish defender of Ukrainian democracy".[25] Gal Beckerman of The Atlantic described Zelenskyy as having "[given] the world a Jewish Hero".[177]
On 7 March 2022, Czech president Milos Zeman decided to award Zelenskyy with the highest state award of the Czech Republic, the Order of the White Lion, for "his bravery and courage in the face of Russia's invasion".[178]
Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for direct talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin,[179] saying: "Good Lord, what do you want? Leave our land. If you don't want to leave now, sit down with me at the negotiating table. But not from 30 meters away, like with Macron and Scholz. I don't bite."[180]
On 7 March, as a condition for ending the invasion, the Kremlin demanded Ukraine's neutrality, recognition of Crimea, which had been annexed by Russia, as Russian territory, and recognition of the self-proclaimed separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states.[181] On 8 March, Zelenskyy expressed willingness to discuss Putin's demands.[179] Zelenskyy said he is ready for dialogue, but "not for capitulation".[182] He proposed a new collective security agreement for Ukraine with the United States, Turkey, France, Germany and Russia as an alternative to the country joining NATO.[183] Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party said that Ukraine would not give up its claims on Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk.[184]
Political views
Economic issues
In a mid-June interview with BIHUS info [uk] a representative of the president of Ukraine at the Cabinet of Ministers, Andriy Herus stated that Zelenskyy had never promised to lower communal tariffs, but that a campaign video in which Zelenskyy stated that the price of natural gas in Ukraine could fall by 20–30 % or maybe more was a not a direct promise but actually “half-hinting" and "joking".[185] Notably, Zelenskyy's election manifesto mentioned tariffs only once—that money raised from a capital amnesty would go towards "lowering the tariff burden on low-income citizens".[186][187]
Foreign policy
During his presidential campaign, Zelenskyy said that he supported Ukraine's becoming a member of the European Union and NATO, but he said Ukrainian voters should decide on the country's membership of these two organisations in referenda.[188] At the same time, he believed that the Ukrainian people had already chosen "eurointegration".[188][189] Zelenskyy's close advisor Ivan Bakanov also said that Zelenskyy's policy is supportive of membership of both the EU and NATO, and proposes holding referendums on membership.[190] Zelenskyy's electoral programme claimed that Ukrainian NATO membership is "the choice of the Maidan and the course that is enshrined in the Constitution, in addition, it is an instrument for strengthening our defense capability".[191] The program states that Ukraine should set the goal to apply for a NATO Membership Action Plan in 2024.[191] The programme also states that Zelenskyy "will do everything to ensure" that Ukraine can apply for European Union membership in 2024.[192] Two days before the second round, Zelenskyy stated that he wanted to build "a strong, powerful, free Ukraine, which is not the younger sister of Russia, which is not a corrupt partner of Europe, but our independent Ukraine".[193]
In October 2020, he spoke in support of Azerbaijan in regards to the Nagorno-Karabakh war between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenians over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Zelenskyy said: "We support Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty just as Azerbaijan always supports our territorial integrity and sovereignty."[194]
In February 2022, he applied for Ukraine to join the European Union.[195][196]
Zelenskyy has tried to position Ukraine as a neutral party in the political and trade tensions between the United States and China. In January 2021, Zelenskyy said in an interview with Axios that he does not perceive China as a geopolitical threat and that he does not agree with the United States assertions that it represents one.[197]
Russo-Ukrainian War
Zelenskyy supported the late 2013 and early 2014 Euromaidan movement. During the war in Donbas, he actively supported the Ukrainian army.[28] Zelenskyy helped fund a volunteer battalion fighting on Donbas.[198]
In a 2014 interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda in Ukraine, Zelenskyy said that he would have liked to pay a visit to Crimea, but would avoid it because "armed people are there".[199] In August 2014, Zelenskyy performed for Ukrainian troops in Mariupol and later his studio donated a million hryvnias to the Ukrainian army.[200] Regarding the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, Zelenskyy said that, speaking realistically, it would be possible to return Crimea to Ukrainian control only after a regime change in Russia.[201]
In an interview in December 2018, Zelenskyy stated that as president he would try to end the ongoing war in Donbas by negotiating with Russia.[202][203] As he considered the leaders of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic (DPR and LPR) to be Russia's "puppets", it would "make no sense to speak with them".[203] He did not rule out holding a referendum on the issue.[204][203] In an interview published three days before the 2019 presidential election (on 21 April), Zelenskyy stated that he was against granting the Donbas region "special status".[205] In the interview he also said that if he were elected president he would not sign a law on amnesty for the militants of the DPR and LPR.[205]
In response to suggestions to the contrary, he stated in April 2019 that he regarded Russian president Vladimir Putin "as an enemy".[206] On 2 May 2019, Zelenskyy wrote on Facebook that "the border is the only thing Russia and Ukraine have in common".[207]
Zelenskyy opposes the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, calling it "a dangerous weapon, not only for Ukraine but for the whole of Europe."[208]
Government reform
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/Volodymyr_Zelensky_visits_Brussels_2019.jpg/220px-Volodymyr_Zelensky_visits_Brussels_2019.jpg)
During the presidential campaign, Zelenskyy promised bills to fight corruption, including removal of immunity from the president of the country, members of the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) and judges, a law about impeachment, reform of election laws, and providing efficient trial by jury. He promised to bring the salary for military personnel "to the level of NATO standards".[209]
Although Zelenskyy prefers elections with open list election ballots, after he called the snap 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election his draft law "On amendments to some laws of Ukraine in connection with the change of the electoral system for the election of people's deputies" proposed to hold the election with closed list because the 60-day term to the snap election did not "leave any chances for the introduction of this system".[210]
Social issues
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Working_trip_to_the_Donetsk_region_-_2.jpg/220px-Working_trip_to_the_Donetsk_region_-_2.jpg)
Zelenskyy supports the free distribution of medical cannabis, free abortion in Ukraine, and the legalisation of prostitution and gambling.[205] He opposes the legalisation of firearms.[205]
Zelenskyy stated in April 2019 that "of course" he supports the decommunization of Ukraine, but is not happy with its current form.[211][205] In an interview with RBC-Ukraine in April 2019, Zelenskyy said that OUN-B leader Stepan Bandera, a controversial figure in Ukrainian history, was "a hero for a certain part of Ukrainians, and this is a normal and cool thing. He was one of those who defended the freedom of Ukraine. But I think that when we name so many streets, bridges by the same name, this is not quite right."[211][212] In that same interview, Zelenskyy went on to criticise the overuse of tributes to Taras Shevchenko, a famous 19th century Ukrainian poet and painter. Zelenskyy concluded: "We must remember the heroes of today, heroes of the arts, heroes of literature, simply heroes of Ukraine. Why don't we use their names – the names of the heroes that today unite Ukraine?"[211]
Zelenskyy opposes targeting the Russian language in Ukraine and banning artists for their political opinions (such as those viewed by the Government as anti-Ukrainian).[213][214] In April 2019, he stated that he was not against a Ukrainian language quota (on radio and TV), although he noted they could be tweaked.[211] He also said that Russian artists "who have turned into (anti-Ukrainian) politicians" should remain banned from entering Ukraine.[205]
Pandora Papers
The October 2021 Pandora Papers revealed that Zelenskyy and his chief aide and the head of the Security Service of Ukraine Ivan Bakanov operated a network of offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, and Belize. These companies included some that owned expensive London property.[215] Around the time of his 2019 election, Zelenskyy handed his shares in a key offshore company over to Shefir, but the two men appear to have made an arrangement for Zelenskyy's family to continue receiving the money from these companies.[215] Zelenskyy's election campaign had centred on pledges to clean up the government of Ukraine.[215] In a 17 October 2021 interview with ICTV, Zelenskyy did not deny that in 2012 he used offshore companies.[216] He claimed he did this to avoid (his then satirical TV shows) being "influenced by politics".[216] Zelenskyy stressed that neither he nor any member of "Kvartal 95" were involved in money laundering.[216]
Awards and decorations
Czech Republic:
Order of the White Lion, First Class (2022)[217]
Latvia:
Commander of Grand Cross of the Order of Viesturs (2022)[218]
Lithuania:
Order of Vytautas the Great with the Golden Chain (2022)[219]
Poland:
Jan Karski Eagle Award (2022)[220]
United States:
Ukraine:
Personal life
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy_voted_in_parliamentary_elections_%282019-07-21%29_05.jpg/220px-Volodymyr_Zelenskyy_voted_in_parliamentary_elections_%282019-07-21%29_05.jpg)
In September 2003, Zelenskyy married Olena Kiyashko,[17] with whom he had attended school.[17] The couple's first daughter, Oleksandra, was born in July 2004.[17] Their son, Kyrylo, was born in January 2013.[17] In Zelenskyy's 2014 movie 8 New Dates, their daughter played Sasha, the daughter of the protagonist.[17] In 2016, she participated in the show The Comedy Comet Company Comedy's Kids and won 50,000 hryvnias.[17]
Zelenskyy's first language is Russian, and he is also fluent in Ukrainian and English.[223][224] His assets were worth about 37 million hryvnias (about $1.5 million USD) in 2018.[225]
Selected filmography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/%D0%95%D0%B2%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%9A%D0%BE%D1%88%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B9%2C_%D0%92%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80_%D0%97%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9.jpg/220px-%D0%95%D0%B2%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%9A%D0%BE%D1%88%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B9%2C_%D0%92%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80_%D0%97%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9.jpg)
Film
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2009 | Love in the Big City | Igor |
2011 | Office Romance. Our Time | Anatoly Efremovich Novoseltsev |
2012 | Love in the Big City 2 | Igor |
Rzhevsky Versus Napoleon | Napoleon | |
8 First Dates | Nikita Sokolov | |
2014 | Love in Vegas | Igor Zelenskyy |
Paddington (Ukrainian dub) | Paddington Bear (voice) | |
2015 | 8 New Dates | Nikita Andreevich Sokolov |
2018 | I, You, He, She | Maksym Tkachenko |
Television series and shows
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | Dancing with the Stars (Ukraine) | as contestant | |
2008–2012 | Svaty ("In-Laws") | as producer | |
2015–2019 | Servant of the People (TV series) | Vasyl Petrovych Holoborodko |
Notes
- ^ Zelenskyy's name is transliterated in several different ways. Zelenskyy is the transliteration on his passport, and his administration has used it since he assumed presidency in 2019.[2][3]
- ^ Since 2015, Ukraine has banned Russian artists and other Russian works of culture from entering Ukraine.[34]
- ^ From 21 January until 18 April 2019 Zelenskyy did not give interviews.[51]
References
- ^ Зеленський Володимир Олександрович [Elections of the President of Ukraine 2019]. Central Election Commission (Ukraine) (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
- ^ Dickinson, Peter (9 June 2019). "Zelensky, Zelenskiy, Zelenskyy: Spelling Confusion Doesn't Help Ukraine". Atlantic Council. Archived from the original on 11 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- ^ Mendel, Iuliia [@IuliiaMendel] (10 June 2019). "Dear colleagues, this is the official form of the last name that the President has in his passport. This was decided by the passport service of Ukraine. The President won't be offended if BBC standards assume different transliteration" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c "Volodymyr Zelensky Was a Jewish Comedian. Now the World's Eyes Are on Him". The Detroit Jewish News. 28 February 2022. LCCN sn94088996. OCLC 32399051. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
- ^ a b Hosa, Joanna; Wilson, Andrew (25 September 2019). Zelensky Unchained: What Ukraine's New Political Order Means For Its Future (Report). European Council on Foreign Relations. JSTOR resrep21659. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ "Checking". starngage.com. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
- ^ "Ukraine Lifts Prosecutorial Immunity For Members Of Parliament". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 19 December 2019. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ Peleschuk, Dan (15 April 2021). "Ukraine's anti-corruption effort struggles, but soldiers on". Eurasianet. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ Wilson, Andrew (6 July 2021). Faltering fightback: Zelensky’s piecemeal campaign against Ukraine’s oligarchs (Report). European Council on Foreign Relations. JSTOR resrep33811. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ Hall, Ben; Olearchyk, Roman; Seddon, Max (21 October 2019). "Ukraine: why Volodymyr Zelensky is pursuing a disruptive agenda". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. OCLC 801838674. Archived from the original on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ "Zelensky invokes Judaism to rally support for Ukrainian cause". France 24. Jerusalem. AFP. 4 March 2022. Archived from the original on 10 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
{{cite news}}
:|archive-date=
/|archive-url=
timestamp mismatch; 9 March 2022 suggested (help) - ^ Lutsevych, Orysia (16 November 2021). "Ukraine still backs Zelenskyy despite slow progress". Chatham House. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "Conflict in Ukraine". Global Conflict Tracker. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
- ^ Seibt, Sébastian (18 February 2022). "Military tactics: Zelensky plays both sides in Ukrainian crisis". France 24. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ Ledwidge, Frank (3 March 2022). "Ukraine war: what are Russia's strategic aims and how effectively are they achieving them?". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^ "ethnic Ukrainian father's farer's medal certificate" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Зеленский Владимир | Руководитель проекта "Квартал-95" [Zelensky Vladimir | Project manager "Kvartal-95"]. Ligamedia (in Russian). 5 June 2018 [2011-10-28]. Archived from the original on 2 January 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
- ^ Liphshiz, Cnaan (19 March 2019). "Jewish comic who plays Ukraine president on TV leads Ukraine's presidential race". The Times of Israel. OCLC 969749342. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019.
- ^ a b Higgins, Andrew (24 April 2019). "Ukraine's Newly Elected President Is Jewish. So Is Its Prime Minister. Not All Jews There Are Pleased". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- ^ ВОЛОДИМИР ЗЕЛЕНСЬКИЙ РОЗКАЗАВ ПРО СТОСУНКИ З БАТЬКАМИ Більше читайте тут [VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYI SPOKE ABOUT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS PARENTS]. один плюс один [1+1 (TV channel)] (in Ukrainian). 28 September 2017. Archived from the original on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
{{cite news}}
:|archive-date=
/|archive-url=
timestamp mismatch; 7 January 2019 suggested (help) - ^ Zelensky Oleksandr Semenovich Archived 7 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine at the Kryvyi Rih State University of Economics and Technology official website (in Ukrainian)
- ^ Volodymyr Zelensky Archived 7 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine interview by Dmitry Gordon at the official website, 26 December 2018 (in Russian)
- ^ "Отбил 4 атаки и уничтожил врага: чем прославился дедушка Зеленского во Второй мировой войне". 9 May 2019. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- ^ "Zelenskiy: contribution of Ukrainians in victory over Nazism huge". Kyiv Post. Interfax-Ukraine. 9 May 2019. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- ^ a b Cramer, Philissa. "18 things to know about Jewish defender of Ukrainian democracy Volodymyr Zelensky". The Times of Israel.
- ^ Talmazan, Yuliya (27 February 2022). "3 years ago Zelenskyy was a TV comedian. Now he's standing up to Putin's army". CNBC. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^ "Зеленський: Якщо мене оберуть президентом, спочатку будуть поливати брудом, потім – поважати, а потім – плакати, коли піду". gordonua.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d (in Ukrainian) Zelensky announced his decision to go to the presidency (video) Archived 27 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine, UNIAN (1 January 2019)
- ^ КВН 95 квартал – Человек рожденный в танце on YouTube
- ^ a b Vladimir Zelenskiy Archived 31 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine at the official Kvartal 95 website
- ^ Zaporizhia-Kryvyi Rih-Transit Archived 7 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine team profile at the official KVN website (in Russian)
- ^ "How funny is the comedian who may be Ukraine's next president?" Archived 1 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine by Viv Groskop, in The Guardian, 2 April 2019. (Retrieved 28 February 2022.)
- ^ a b (in Russian) Zelensky intended to demand the resignation of the Ministry of Culture Archived 21 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine, sevas.com (9 August 2014)
- ^ a b "Ukraine bans 38 Russian 'hate' books amid culture war". BBC News. 11 August 2015. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
- ^ (in Ukrainian) "Night watch", "Love in a big city 2": in the State Committee called new prohibited films Archived 17 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrayinska Pravda (17 January 2019)
- ^ (in Russian) Actor Zelensky criticized the SBU because of the ban on the series "Matchmakers" Archived 2 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine, RIA Novosti (24 November 2017)
(in Russian) SC will check whether Zelensky financed the Ukrainian army Archived 6 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Komsomolskaya Pravda (02/05/15) - ^ "Volodymyr Zelensky in major lead in Ukraine presidential election runoff: Biography, quotes". Ukrainian Independent Information Agency (UNIAN). 22 April 2019. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- ^ "Суд скасував заборону на серіал "Свати"". Українська правда. Archived from the original on 29 April 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
- ^ (in Ukrainian) "Kvartal 95" will take off its first Ukrainian-language comedy with Nastya Kamensky in the lead role, Zaxid.net (20 June 2017). Retrieved 4 April 2019
- ^ "Я, Ти, Вiн, Вона (2018) – Release Info" [I, You, He, She (2018) – Release Info]. IMDb. Archived from the original on 15 July 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- ^ Tetjana Turlik’yan (18 December 2018). Мовний факап і чіткі актори: як пройшла презентація комедії "Я, ти, він, вона" від "Квартал 95" [Language fakap and clear actors: how was the presentation of the comedy "I, You, He, She" from "Kvartal 95"] (in Ukrainian). РБК-Україна. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Lawyer Zelenskyy has registered a new political party "Servant of the people"". UNIAN (in Ukrainian). 3 December 2017. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ^ a b c d "The boundary of a joke. How Zelensky prepares for the election". Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian). 25 October 2018. Archived from the original on 8 February 2019.
- ^ a b Could a rock star become Ukraine's next president? Archived 2 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Deutsche Welle (24 August 2018)
- ^ "How Ukraine's Presidential Race Is Shaping Up". Atlantic Council. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Comedian faces scrutiny over oligarch ties in Ukraine presidential race". Reuters. 1 April 2019. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ "Volodymyr Zelensky: April 1 – an awesome day for a clown to win". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d Ukraine media demands access to runoff frontrunner Zelensky Archived 17 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Al Jazeera (16 April 2019)
- ^ Karatnycky, Adrian. "The World Just Witnessed the First Entirely Virtual Presidential Campaign". POLITICO Magazine. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
- ^ a b Ukraine election: Why comic Zelenskiy is real threat to Poroshenko Archived 27 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine, BBC news (27 March 2019).
- ^ a b (in Ukrainian) Zelensky's team. Who are these people Archived 18 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrayinska Pravda (19 April 2019)
- ^ Miller, Christopher (8 February 2019). "Crowdsourcer In Chief: Ukrainian Funnyman Takes Unorthodox Path To Top Of Presidential Pack". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
- ^ Melkozerova, Veronika (4 March 2019). "'Servant of the People' leads Ukraine's presidential race". Coda Story. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
- ^ "Zelensky: Party "Servant of the people" goes into politics". Interfax-Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 26 December 2018. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019.
- ^ (in Ukrainian) Zelensky responded to the "cat in the bag" and told about the strategy Archived 18 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrayinska Pravda (18 April 2019).
- ^ Bociurkiw, Michael (30 March 2019). "Why Ukraine might elect a comedian". CNN. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ Maheshwari, Vijai (17 April 2019). "The comedian and the oligarch". Politico Europe. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ "Ukraine elections: actor and comedian poised to win crushing victory". The Guardian. 18 April 2019. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- ^ "Ukraine election: Poroshenko attacks Zelensky before runoff". Al-Jazeera. 1 April 2019. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- ^ "Rivals in Ukraine's presidential runoff hold bitter debate at sports stadium". The Times of Israel. 20 April 2019. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- ^ a b "How the Ukraine Scandal Looks in Ukraine". Slate. 27 September 2019. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- ^ a b Zelensky vs Proshenko: debates at the stadium and the Suspilne TV studio (Зеленський vs Порошенко: дебати на стадіоні та в студії Суспільного). Hromadske.ua. 19 April 2019
- ^ Debates of Poroshenko and Zelensky: all details, photos and video (Дебати Порошенка і Зеленського: всі подробиці, фото і відео) Archived 21 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Apostrophe. 19 April 2019
- ^ Yermakov, Oleksandr. Zelensky and Poroshenko debates: chronology of events from telebridge to both stages at "Olimpiyskiy" (Дебати Зеленського і Порошенка: хронологія подій від телемосту до двох сцен на «Олімпійському») Archived 29 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Radio Liberty. 19 April 2019
- ^ (in Ukrainian) Zelensky answered whether he would go for a second term Archived 20 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrayinska Pravda (20 May 2021)
- ^ a b c (in Ukrainian) Zelensky plans to attract investment in Ukraine through a resumption of the judicial system Archived 27 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrayinska Pravda (23 March 2019).
- ^ (in Ukrainian) "Central Election Commission of Ukraine – Ukrainian Presidential Election 2019 (first round)". www.cvk.gov.ua. Cenetral Election Commission of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019.
- ^ Ukraine election: Comedian Zelensky wins presidency by landslide Archived 21 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News (22 April 2019)
- ^ Election of President of Ukraine 2019 Repeat voting Archived 13 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine, UKR.VOTE
- ^ "Перший європейський лідер привітав Зеленського". Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
- ^ "Zelensky meets with Macron". Ukrinform. 12 April 2019. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "Зеленський вже поговорив телефоном із Трампом". Українська правда. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
- ^ "Ukraine vaults into unknown after comic elected president". Agence France-Presse. 16 January 2012. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ "Joint letter of President Tusk and President Juncker to Volodymyr Zelensky, President-elect of Ukraine – Consilium". www.consilium.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
- ^ "Ukraine's New President Vows To Dissolve Parliament As PM, Other Key Officials Resign". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
- ^ "Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised international partners that the world would be proud of Ukraine". Official website of the President of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
- ^ "New Ukraine President Zelensky calls snap election". BBC News. 20 May 2019. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
- ^ "Zelensky may dissolve parliament despite People's Front withdrawal from coalition – expert". www.unian.info. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
- ^ "Georgia's Saakashvili has Ukrainian citizenship restored". bbc.com. 28 May 2019. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ "UAWire – Ukrainian parliament rejects Zelensky's proposal to change election system". www.uawire.org. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ "Archived copy" Рада відмовилась розглядати законопроект Зеленського про відповідальність за незаконне збагачення. www.unian.ua (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Рада включила в повестку дня депутатский законопроект об ответственности за незаконное обогащение, инициативу Зеленского рассматривать отказались". gordonua.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.[better source needed]
- ^ "Archived copy" Президент внесе у нову Раду законопроект про зняття недоторканності з депутатів, дипломатів та суддів – Стефанчук. www.unian.ua (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Zinets, Natalia; Williams, Matthias (3 September 2019). "Quick win for Zelenskiy as Ukraine parliament strips lawmakers' immunity". Reuters. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ "Zelensky cancels Independence Day parade on August 24 citing costs". TASS. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
- ^ "Zelensky cancels Independence Day military parade, gives money to soldiers | KyivPost – Ukraine's Global Voice". KyivPost. 9 July 2019.
- ^ "No Independence Day parade to be held this year, Zelensky says". www.unian.info. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ "Bonuses instead of parade: Ukraine's leader takes surprising decision". belsat.eu. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ "Voice of America: Journalists see censorship in Ukraine's proposed media laws". Kyiv Post. 6 February 2020. Archived from the original on 17 March 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ Leonova, Nataliya; Lihostova, Oksana; Deynychenko, Ruslan (5 February 2020). "Journalists See Specter of Censorship in Ukraine's Proposed Media Law". VoA News. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ Zelensky without extra announcement jetted off in Oman "for a meeting at the highest level (Зеленський без зайвих анонсів гайнув в Оман "на зустрічі на найвищому рівні") Archived 21 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Ukrayinska Pravda. 5 January 2020
- ^ Yevhen Solonyna. Zelensky in Oman. Experts tell about crisis in communications of the President (Зеленський в Омані. Експерти говорять про кризу комунікації президента)) Archived 21 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Radio Liberty. 6 January 2020
- ^ a b Shushkovska, Alisa (18 February 2021). "Ukraine adopts new and improved referendum law". Atlantic Council. Archived from the original on 6 July 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ "Ukraine's referendum law passed during Yanukovych's presidency designated as unconstitutional". Unian. 27 April 2018. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ Filtenborg, Emil; Weichert, Stefan (22 June 2021). "Zelenskyy speeds up corruption crackdown, one oligarch at a time". Euronews. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
- ^ Polityuk, Pavel; Zinets, Natalia (23 September 2021). "Ukrainian lawmakers pass law on oligarchs after assassination attempt". Reuters. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Нові кадри в Адміністрації. Кого Зеленський привів на Банкову". Українська правда. Archived from the original on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ "Archived copy" Нові кадри в Адміністрації. Кого Зеленський привів на Банкову. Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Карцев, Дмитрий (22 May 2019). "Владимир Зеленский руководит Украиной три дня. Вот что он сделал (и не сделал)". meduza.io. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
- ^ "Zelensky's childhood friend appointed SBU's first deputy chief (Document)". www.unian.info. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
- ^ "Зеркаль відмовилась від посади заступника глави АП – джерела". Українська правда. Archived from the original on 22 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ "Рада отказала Зеленскому в увольнении двух министров и главы СБУ. Ни один из его законопроектов не рассмотрен". meduza.io (in Russian). Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ Даша, Зубкова (2 July 2019). "Zelenskyy Again Asking Rada To Dismiss Lutsenko And Klimkin, Appoint Prystaiko As Foreign Affairs Minister". Ukranews.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ Sorokin, Oleksiy (6 July 2019). "Zelensky appoints his first governors — in Lviv, Donetsk, Zakarpattia oblasts". KyivPost. Archived from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ "Volodymyr Zelensky clears the old elite out of parliament". The Economist. 25 July 2019. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ Talant, Bermet; Sorokin, Oleksiy (29 August 2019). "Oleksiy Honcharuk named prime minister, Cabinet approved". KyivPost. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ^ "Ukrainian Parliament Accepts Resignation Of Influential Interior Minister". RadioFreeEurope. 15 July 2021. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ^ The new prime minister explained how Avakov was left – the "red lines" (Новий прем'єр пояснив, як лишили Авакова: "червоні лінії") Archived 31 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Ukrayinska Pravda. 30 August 2019
- ^ Zelensky dismisses head of president's office Bohdan, appoints Yermak instead Archived 12 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Interfax-Ukraine (11 February 2020)
- ^ Talant, Bermet (6 March 2020). "Hasty government reshuffle sows disquiet at home, abroad". Kyiv Post.
- ^ ZELENSKYY, VOLODYMYR (4 March 2020). "Speech by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy at an extraordinary session of the Verkhovna Rada". PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE Official website. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ^ "Zelensky's approval rating slides to 31% – poll". Ukrainian Independent Information Agency. 21 September 2020. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
- ^ "Zelensky enacts strategy for de-occupation and reintegration of Crimea". Ukrinform. 24 March 2021. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
- ^ a b c "Ukraine conflict: Anger as Zelensky agrees vote deal in east". BBC News. 2 October 2019. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "Леонид Кучма возглавил украинскую делегацию в Трехсторонней контактной группе". Официальное интернет-представительство Президента Украины. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
- ^ "Telephone conversation with President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky". President of Russia. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ a b Foy, Henry (11 July 2019). "Putin and Zelensky hold first discussion with talks on conflict, prisoner swap". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ "Thousands protest Ukraine leader's peace plan". France 24. 6 October 2019. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ a b Midttun, Hans Petter (25 December 2019). "The basis for a peaceful resolution of the war in eastern Ukraine – trends at the end of 2019". Euromaidan Press. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ Krivosheev, Kirill (27 October 2019). "Владимир Зеленский ушел без оружия" [Volodymyr Zelenskyy walks away unarmed]. Kommersant (in Russian). Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ "Far-right groups protest Ukrainian president's peace plan". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ Wintour, Patrick (26 January 2022). "Ukraine tensions: what is the Normandy format and has it achieved anything?". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ Cookman, Liz. "Ukraine-Russia crisis: Ceasefire violations rise at contact line". Aljazeera. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ Ponomarenko, Illia (15 February 2021). "OSCE in Donbas reports 55% less ceasefire violations in 2020". KyivPost. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ Через катастрофу в Ірані Зеленський перервав поїздку до Оману [Due to the catastrophe in Iran, Zelensky interrupted his trip to Oman]. Українська правда [Ukrayinska Pravda] (in Ukrainian). 8 January 2020. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
- ^ Grigorenko, Timur (8 January 2020). "Вылетаю!" Зеленский срочно покинул Оман из-за крушения самолета ["I'm flying out!" Zelensky urgently left Oman due to plane crash]. Obozrevatel (in Russian). Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
- ^ Зеленський прилетів з Оману майже через добу після авіакатастрофи – "Схеми" [Zelensky arrived from Oman almost a day after the plane crash - "Skhemy"]. Українська правда [Ukrayinska Pravda] (in Ukrainian). 9 January 2020. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
- ^ In Oman Zelensky may have met with Surkov, mass media (В Омані Зеленський міг зустрічатися із Сурковим, – ЗМІ) Archived 22 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Glavcom.ua. 12 January 2020
- ^ Зеленський і літак Медведчука в Омані: у президента прокоментували збіг [Zelensky and Medvedchuk's plane in Oman: the president commented on the coincidence]. Українська правда [Ukrayinska Pravda] (in Ukrainian). 14 January 2020. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
- ^ Medvedchuk told who flew in his plane from Oman, while there was Zelensky (Медведчук розповів, хто летів у його літаку з Оману, поки там був Зеленський) Archived 22 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Ukrayinska Pravda. 14 January 2020
- ^ Romaniuk, Roman (14 January 2020). Андрій Єрмак: Зеленський повернувся з Оману настільки швидко, наскільки це було можливо [Andriy Yermak: Zelensky returned from Oman as soon as possible]. Українська правда [Ukrayinska Pravda] (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
- ^ Mikhail Shilin. Prystaiko did not answer about the "official visit" of Zelensky to Oman (Пристайко не ответил по "официальному визиту" Зеленского в Оман) Archived 22 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Liga.net. 17 January 2020
- ^ Vadim Rebrina. In the Presidential Office do not know with whom flew Zelensky and what he signed in Oman (В ОП не знают, с кем летал и что подписывал Зеленский в Омане) Archived 22 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Liga.net. 24 January 2020
- ^ Mikhail Shilin. Prystaiko about the visit of Zelensky to Oman: When time comes we will explain (Пристайко о визите Зеленского в Оман: В свое время разъясним) Archived 22 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Liga.net. 20 January 2020
- ^ "Zelensky to meet EU officials on first foreign visit". www.euronews.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
- ^ "Ukrainian president to resume exhumation of Poles in Ukraine: report". Telewizja Polska. 29 August 2019. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- ^ Vogel, Kenneth P.; Mendel, Iuliia (1 May 2019). "Biden Faces Conflict of Interest Questions That Are Being Promoted by Trump and Allies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- ^ Schreckinger, Ben (3 August 2019). "The Biden family's strange business history". Politico. Archived from the original on 13 November 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- ^ Law, Tara (25 September 2019). "Ukrainian President Denies President Trump Pressured Him". Time. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ "Biden, Zelensky Discuss Energy, Russia, Ukraine's Future With the West". The Wall Street Journal. 1 September 2021. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ a b "President Zelensky, First Lady open Ukrainian House in Washington". Ukrinform. 2 September 2021. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Zelensky arrives to Washington to meet Blinken, Granholm, Biden". Kyiv Post. 31 August 2021. Archived from the original on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Zelensky to meet with Apple CEO in California on Sept 2, visit Silicon Valley, speak at Stanford University". Interfax-Ukraine – Ukraine News Agency. 2 September 2021. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "In California, Zelensky meets with Ukrainians working at Silicon Valley companies". Ukrinform. 4 September 2021. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "Zelensky at Stanford: 'Russia's policy is to take, not give'". Kyiv Post. 3 September 2021. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ Top Adviser to Ukrainian President Is Targeted in an Assassination Attempt Archived 23 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine, New York Times, Ivan Nechepurenko and Michael Schwirtz, 22 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
- ^ Shylenko, Olga (8 April 2021). "Ukraine's Zelensky on frontline as Merkel urges Putin to pull back troops". CTVNews. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Zelensky warns Ukraine 'entirely prepared' if Russia attacks". France 24. 26 November 2021. Archived from the original on 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Zelenskiy says Ukraine uncovers coup plot involving Russians; Kremlin denies role". Reuters. 26 November 2021. Archived from the original on 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Ukraine's Zelenskiy Says Ready for Russian Escalation, Claims Coup Plot Uncovered". The Moscow Times. 27 November 2021. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "EU threatens Russia sanctions as NATO backs Ukraine". France 24. 16 December 2021. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "'Big hype': Zelenskyy urges restraint amid risk of Russian invasion". Daily Sabah. 20 January 2022. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "Some Ukrainians Are Angry About Washington Ordering Diplomats' Families To Leave The US Embassy". BuzzFeed News. 24 January 2022. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "Volodymyr Zelensky accuses the West of causing 'panic' with warnings of a Russian invasion that hurts the Ukrainian economy". Business Insider. 28 January 2022. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Ukraine to the world: keep calm and stop spreading panic". Financial Times. 28 January 2022. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Ukraine crisis: US president Joe Biden tells Zelensky to 'prepare' for Russian invasion". The New Zealand Herald. 28 January 2022. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "Ukraine's president told Biden to 'calm down' Russian invasion warnings, saying he was creating unwanted panic: report". Yahoo News. 28 January 2022. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "Ukraine is 'longing for peace' says Zelensky at Munich Security Conference". France 24. France 24. France 24. 19 February 2022. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ Cruz Bustillos, Dominic (24 February 2022). "Full Translation: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Feb. 23 Speech". Lawfare. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ "Ukraine conflict: Russian forces attack from three sides". BBC News. 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ "Украина разорвала дипломатические отношения с Россией". Interfax. 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ "Ukrainian president signs decree on general mobilisation of population -Interfax". Reuters. 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ "Ukraine president orders full military mobilisation". The National. PA. 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ Krasnolutska, Daryna; Crawford, Alan (25 February 2022). "Putin Unbowed as Russia Presses Ahead With Invasion Toward Kyiv". BNN Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ Shane Harris; Ellen Francis; Robyn Dixon (25 February 2022). "U.S. stands ready to evacuate Zelensky, Russia's 'No. 1 target'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ Yuras Karmanau; Jim Heintz; Vladimir Isachenkov; Dasha Litvinova (25 February 2022). "Ukraine's capital under threat as Russia presses invasion". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Volodymyr Zelenskiy stands defiant in face of Russian attack". the Guardian. 26 February 2022. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy: From comedian to national hero". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- ^ Other sources:
- "3 years ago Zelenskyy was a TV comedian. Now he's standing up to Putin's army". NBC News. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- "Actor-turned-president Zelensky grows on stage as Ukraine's war-time leader". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
he is now the face of national defiance, winning rave reviews as a war-time leader
- "Zelenskyy's unlikely journey, from comedy to wartime leader". AP News. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- "For many Jews, Volodymyr Zelensky is a 'modern Maccabee' as he fights Ukraine's war". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- "Ukraine leader Zelenskyy's wild ride: Jewish comedian to national hero". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- "Ukraine president suddenly thrust into hero role, mirrors one of the darkest chapters of the Cold War". Fortune. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ^ O'Cearuil, Eamon (3 March 2022). "Glory to You, President Zelenskyy". Harvard Political Review. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ "Zelensky emerges as global hero in Ukraine battle against Russia". The Hill. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ^ "Ukrainian President Zelenskyy Standing Tall in the Face of Danger". Der Spiegel. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ^ "'I need ammunition, not a ride': Zelenskyy is the hero his country needs as Russia invades". USA Today. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ^ "Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky: The comedian president who is rising to the moment". BBC News. 26 February 2022. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ Rana, Manveen (3 March 2022). "Volodymyr Zelensky survives three assassination attempts in days". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ Zelensky says ‘we will not forgive’ after Russians kill fleeing civilians, Times of Israel
- ^ Beckerman, Gal (27 February 2022). "How Zelensky Gave the World a Jewish Hero". The Atlantic.
- ^ "Czech president to award state honour to Ukraine's president". Reuters. 7 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Ukraine's Zelenskiy Says Open to 'Compromise' with Russia on Crimea, Separatist Territories". The Moscow Times. 8 March 2022.
- ^ "Zelensky Calls on Putin for Face-to-Face Talks, Says 'I Don't Bite'". Newsweek. 3 March 2022.
- ^ "Russia will stop 'in a moment' if Ukraine meets terms – Kremlin". Reuters. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "Israel's Bennett plays peacemaker in Ukraine-Russia war". BBC News. 10 March 2022.
- ^ "Analysis: Two weeks into Ukraine war, analysts detect faint glimmers of compromise emerge". Reuters. 11 March 2022.
- ^ "Alternative to NATO proposed by Zelensky's party". The Jerusalem Post. 8 March 2022.
- ^ (in Ukrainian) Zelensky stated that he did not promise to lower tariffs Archived 12 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrayinska Pravda (12 June 2019)
- ^ "Archived copy" Зеленский опубликовал свою предвыборную программу. ТСН.ua (in Russian). 25 January 2019. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Передвиборча програма кандидата в президенти України Володимира Зеленського". Передвиборча програма кандидата на пост Президента України Володимира Зеленського. July 2020. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
- ^ a b Troianovski, Anton (9 March 2019). "'Parallel universe': The front-runner seeking to be Ukraine's president plays one on TV". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- ^ "Zelensky about eurointegration: referendum is needed". Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian). 22 March 2019. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019.
- ^ "What a Volodymyr Zelensky Ukrainian Presidency Would Look Like". The National Interest. 18 April 2019. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ a b (in Ukrainian) Zelensky, Poroshenko, Tymoshenko and Gritsenko told how to move to NATO Archived 25 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrayinska Pravda (25 March 2019).
- ^ (in Ukrainian) From the EU to nuclear weapons: foreign policy Zelensky, Poroshenko, Tymoshenko and Gritsenko Archived 25 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrayinska Pravda (25 March 2019).
- ^ Зеленський представив свою команду. Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
- ^ "Ukraine supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity". Anadolu Agency. 2 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
- ^ Treisman, Rachel (28 February 2022). "Ukraine wants to join the EU. Here's how that would work". NPR. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ^ "8 EU countries support Ukraine's call to fast-track membership talks". news.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ^ "Exclusive: Ukraine's Zelensky says he doesn't feel China threat". Axios. 31 January 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
- ^ "Ukraine election rivals trade taunts and media tricks". BBC News. 17 April 2019. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- ^ "Archived copy" Владимир Зеленский: Отдыхать в Крым – вряд ли. На гастроли – возможно. kp.ua (in Russian). Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy" Зеленский и его Студия Квартал-95 выступили в зоне АТО. kp.ua (in Russian). Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Front-runner in Ukraine's election race names condition for returning Crimea". uawire.org. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ "Ukraine's New President Zelensky Hints At Peace With Russia". Forbes. 16 September 2019. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- ^ a b c (in Ukrainian) Zelensky about the war in the Donbas: Though we are ready to agree with the devil Archived 26 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrayinska Pravda (26 December 2018)
- ^ Genin, Aaron (28 March 2019). "Upcoming Elections and Ukrainian 'Ultra-nationalism'". The California Review. Retrieved 31 March 2019.[permanent dead link] [unreliable source?]
- ^ a b c d e f (in Russian) Vladimir Zelensky: It is beneficial for us to dissolve the Rada, but we will think and act according to the law Archived 18 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine, RBC Ukraine (18 April 2019)
- ^ Kyiv, Tom Parfitt (19 April 2019). "Ukraine poll leader Volodymyr Zelensky sees Putin as an enemy". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ "Zelensky: Border only "common" thing between Ukraine, Russia". www.unian.info. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ "Ukraine insists Nord Stream 2 is 'dangerous' despite German reassurances". Politico. 22 August 2021. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
- ^ (in Ukrainian) Comfortable topics for candidates: how they understand reforms Archived 30 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine, The Ukrainian Week (6 March 2019).
- ^ "Опублікували виборчий закон Зеленського, у нардепів є альтернатива". Українська правда. Archived from the original on 22 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
- ^ a b c d (in Ukrainian) Zelensky suggested, that he might not get to shake Poroshenko's hand (ed. if one were to cut off the hands of all corrupt officials) Archived 18 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrayinska Pravda (18 April 2019)
- ^ "Zelensky on Bandera: Ukrainians should also praise modern day heroes". www.unian.info. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
- ^ "Зеленский о запрете въезда российских артистов в Украину – События – Новости Крыма Sevas.Com". news.sevas.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- ^ "Ukraine blacklists Russian artists". BBC. 8 August 2015. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- ^ a b c Pandora Papers Reveal Offshore Holdings of Ukrainian President and his Inner Circle Archived 9 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (3 October 2021)
"Revealed: 'anti-oligarch' Ukrainian president's offshore connections". The Guardian. 3 October 2021. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021. - ^ a b c (in Ukrainian) Zelensky said he did not launder money, although he used offshore Archived 18 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrayinska Pravda (17 October 2021)
- ^ ""Showed courage and courage": Zelensky was awarded the highest state award of the Czech Republic – the Order of the White Lion". newsreadonline.com. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ "ZЛатвия наградила Зеленского Орденом Виестура — за мужество в защите Украины". gorod.lv. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ "Zełenski z najwyższym litewskim odznaczeniem. Nausėda wyróżnił ukraińskiego odpowiednika". kurierwilenski.lt. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ "Prezydent Ukrainy W. Zełeński odznaczony Nagrodą Orła Jana Karskiego". gosc.pl. 27 February 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ "Zelenskyy wins Ronald Reagan Freedom Award". foxnews.com. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ "Кабінет Міністрів України - Про нагородження Почесною грамотою Кабінету Міністрів України". kmu.gov.u. 23 June 2003. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ Savchuk, Tetiana (28 March 2019). "Західна преса: про Тимошенко, Порошенка і Зеленського". Radio Svoboda/Radio Liberty (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
російськомовний Зеленський
- ^ CNBC, CNBC. "Trump and Zelensky speak after bilateral meeting". YouTube. CNBC. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
- ^ "Рух Чесно: У 2018 році Зеленський збільшив свої статки на 6 млн грн". Українська правда. Archived from the original on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
- Official website
- Kvartal 95 Archived 31 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy at IMDb
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Telegram
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy
- 1978 births
- Living people
- People from Kryvyi Rih
- Kyiv National Economic University alumni
- Ukrainian male comedians
- Ukrainian television presenters
- 21st-century Ukrainian male actors
- Ukrainian male film actors
- Ukrainian male voice actors
- Ukrainian Jews
- Ukrainian screenwriters
- Ukrainian film producers
- Parodists
- Candidates in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election
- Servant of the People (political party) politicians
- Ukrainian actor-politicians
- Jewish presidents
- Jewish male comedians
- Jewish male actors
- Male screenwriters
- Jewish Ukrainian politicians
- Jewish Ukrainian comedians
- Jewish Ukrainian actors
- Presidents of Ukraine
- Trump–Ukraine scandal
- People named in the Pandora Papers
- Recipients of the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award
- Grand Crosses with Golden Chain of the Order of Vytautas the Great
- Collars of the Order of the White Lion