Russia-Ukraine war’s first anniversary: On February 24, 2022, when Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a “special military operation” against its neighbouring nation, it was highly anticipated that his Ukranian counterpart would flee the country amid the fact the Biden administration offered him an escape. The expectation was apparent as the leader had no experience in handling a country in such a crisis.
However, instead of escaping the country, Zelenskyy filmed a rebellious video of himself outside the presidential offices with his four closest aides arrayed behind him. “We are all here,” Zelenskyy said in a declaration of their determination to stay in Kyiv and defend Ukraine’s independence.
Before the commencement of the war, the world had assumed that the Ukrainian army would not go a long way against the powerful and most advanced aggressor. However, Zelenskyy, since the first day of the war, has inspired Ukrainians to fight. He has given them hope.
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Zelenskyy– as an actor
Until this time, the countrymen were acquainted with his acting skills– as he had sketched himself in a popular television show. In fact, when he took the presidency at the age of 41 years, Zelenskyy struggled to convince Ukrainians he was up to the job and his approval ratings slumped. However, the world witnessed an unprecedented change in Zelenskyy– from shedding his trim suits for an entire wardrobe of army green. His boyish face grew a dark beard. He seemed to age overnight.
Since then, almost every night, he has been appearing on television screens and social media platforms, where he can be seen inflating nationalism with his trained voice. During his speech, his voice seems both soothing and forceful. Zelenskyy’s speech rises moral outrage as he condemns the most recent Russian atrocities and assures his countrymen that those responsible for the brutality will be penalised.
Zelenskyy has instilled a belief that Ukraine can prevail
He speaks of the anger and pain from the devastation of the country and the untold deaths and vows that Ukraine will one day be made whole. In almost every speech, the actor-turned-Ukranie’s boss never tires of appreciating all those on the front lines. Through all the horrors of the war, Zelenskyy has instilled a belief that Ukraine can prevail.
Many world leaders compare Zelenskyy to Winston Churchill– the British Prime Minister who led his country during World War II. “He’s been extraordinarily good at channelling a kind of larger national spirit,” Fiona Hill, a Russia scholar at the Brookings Institution who served in the past three US administrations, said in an interview with The Associated Press. She credits, in part, Zelenskyy’s training as an actor.
Roared in Parliament of several countries
Ever since the war escalated a year ago, Zelenskyy delivered several staunch speeches on Russia– denouncing war crimes and urging the international leaders to pour more military support into the war-torn nation. But, he never asked any nations for monetary help or did not seek any emotional patronage. Every time he roared at Parliaments, he echoed for lethal weapons.
In December last year, President Zelenskyy visited the United States– for the first time, he moved out of Ukraine ever since Putin ravaged the brutal war. During his entire speech, he urged Congress to provide fierce weapons in order to shatter the desires of Russian forces. Later, he landed in the United Kingdom and urged the House of Commons to pace up the military aid. Even today, he took to the microblogging site, and he urged world leaders to pace up the war assistance for the shake of freedom in Ukraine.
Despite Zelenskyy’s obvious star power, his adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, one of the four men standing behind him in the video at the start of the war, qualifies his praise. “You put me in a bit of an awkward position, because on the one hand, of course, I see a president who is in his place at this time,” Podolyak told the news agency. “It’s very cool. He has an iron core, an iron will, a fantastic willingness to take responsibility, courage and so on.”
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