Volodymyr Zelensky
1978 – ? Ukrainian President of Ukraine, former actor
Former actor and comedian who became Ukraine's wartime president after the 2022 Russian invasion.
- Religion
- Jewish
- Affiliations
- Servant of the People
Volodymyr Zelensky was a comedian and actor who played a fictional president on television before winning the real presidency in a landslide in 2019 on an anti-corruption platform. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 he refused offers to evacuate, stayed in Kyiv, and became the public face of Ukraine's resistance, rallying his country and Western support. Of Jewish heritage and a Russian speaker from central Ukraine, he became a symbol of national defiance during the largest war in Europe since 1945.
Connections
- rival of Viktor Yanukovych — From the opposite, pro-Russian camp of Ukrainian politics.
- rival of Viktor Yanukovych — From the opposite, pro-Western camp of Ukrainian politics.
- rival of Vladimir Putin — The Russian president whose forces invaded his country.
- rival of Vladimir Putin — The Ukrainian president whose country he invaded in 2022.
In the timeline
- 2022 Full-Scale Russian Invasion of Ukraine the wartime president