Newsroom

Meet Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s first lady and Moscow’s ‘target No. 2’

First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska visits the Latvian Museum of Occupation with her husband in Riga, Latvia, on October 16, 2019.Gints Ivuskans/AFP/Getty Images Olena Zelenska is the first lady of Ukraine and the wife of President Volodymyr Zelensky. She is a professional comedy writer, advocate, and mother of two children. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Zelenska has taken on a role of the first lady of a country at war. Olena Zelenska is the first lady of Ukraine and the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.Olena Zelensky looks on during a TV address in Kyiv, Ukraine on May 6, 2020.Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/APZelenska was born in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, in 1978, the year leading up to height of the Soviet Union’s global power.She met her future husband — Volodymyr Zelensky, who would go on to become the president of Ukraine — at Kryvyi Rih National University, where she studied architecture. The couple was married in 2003 after dating for eight years.While Zelensky had no political experience before being elected into office in 2019, publications like The Guardian have described him as a “convincing war leader.”Now, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the 44-year-old Zelenska has taken on the role of the first lady of a country at war, reported The Independent.The Office of the President of Ukraine did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment for this story.Zelensky has described his family, including his wife, as “Moscow’s target No. 2.” In a video broadcast on February 28, he said he was Moscow’s No. 1 target.Olena Zelenska and her husband, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, cast their ballots in parliamentary elections on July 21, 2019 in Kiev, Ukraine.Sergei Chuzavkov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesThe US offered safe passage to Zelensky and his family in February, as many feared they would be captured or killed by the impending Russian military.But the Ukrainian president turned down evacuation offers. “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,” Zelensky said to the US, according to a Twitter post by the Ukraine embassy to the UK.Zelensky said that he and his family are the main targets for the Russia.”According to the information we have, the enemy marked me as target No. 1, my family as target No. 2,” Zelensky told Ukrainians in an early morning address on February 24.”My family are not traitors, we are citizens of Ukraine,” he added.The family is reportedly still in Ukraine.The couple has two children: Oleksandra, 17, and Kyrylo, 9. A post shared by Olena Zelenska (@olenazelenska_official) The family has not been reunited since the beginning of the invasion in late February, according to an interview with Zelensky. Zelenska and their children are currently in hiding.Zelenska is fiercely private, and not much is known about the family. She had reportedly “aggressively opposed” her husband’s plans to join politics, as she did not enjoy the limelight, reported Tatler.”I prefer staying backstage. My husband is always on the forefront, while I feel more comfortable in the shade,” Zelenska told Ukrainian Vogue in November 2019.Zelenska is a professional comedy writer, a role she has not given up even as Ukraine’s first lady.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) and his wife Olena Zelenska (R) arrive to lay the wreath on the monument at Mykhailivska Square within the 29th Independence Day celebrations at the Sofiyska Square in Kiev, Ukraine on August 24, 2020.PressOffice of Ukrainian Presidency/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)Zelenska is a screenwriter for Kvartal 95 Studio, a production company her husband founded in 2003.As a screenwriter, she wrote for the comedy group that made Zelensky into a celebrity in Ukraine, per The Independent. As an actor and comedian, Zelensky rose to fame by playing a spoof politician in the TV series “Servant of the People.”Zelenska speaks “flawless” English, and is one of the country’s most influential women, according to Tatler.—Katerina Ang (@katerinareports) November 11, 2019Zelenska is an advocate for causes like children’s nutrition and the fight against domestic violence, per The Washington Post. Some of Zelenska’s most notable projects include initiating Ukraine into the Biarritz Partnership in December 2019, which was the G7’s international initiative on gender equality, per The President of Ukraine’s official website.She also introduced legislation about improving food in Ukrainian schools in 2021 and promoting the Ukrainian language in June 2020, according to The Independent. One of Zelenska’s goals was to “modernize the school feeding system,” per UNICEF.”I’m going to grab onto everything, it won’t work, so our team decided to focus on specific tasks: children’s health, equal opportunities for all Ukrainians and cultural diplomacy,” she said in the Ukrainian Vogue interview.Zelenska has established herself as a fashion icon and champion of Ukrainian designers.Military parade held as part of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence celebrations in Kiev, Ukraine, on August 24, 2021. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska also attended the event.Presidency of Ukraine/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesZelenska intentionally chooses to wear clothes made by Ukrainian designers on her diplomatic trips abroad, according to People.”I am pleased when they ask me in New York or Paris who is the designer of my outfit. And they do ask me,” she told Ukrainian Vogue in 2019. “And it wouldn’t be as exciting to name a major western brand, which they already know there, but how nice it is to promote Ukrainian designers to the world.””I truly believe in soft power and cultural diplomacy. It is a part of that power, which is important for Ukraine,” she told Diplomatic Courier in September 2021.Zelenska has been using social media to encourage her fellow Ukrainians to remain resilient during the war. A post shared by Володимир Зеленський (@zelenskiy_official) Zelenska has 2.1 million followers on Instagram, where she shares photos of her initiatives and leisure time with her family.She recently posted a video of Ukraine during the Russian invasion, with the caption: “We are against the war and did not attack first. But we are not going to give up. The whole world, look: we are fighting for peace in your countries as well.” The video garnered over one million views.”Today I will not have panic and tears. I will be calm and confident,” she wrote in Ukrainian on Instagram in February, as translated by The Washington Post.”My children are looking at me. I will be next to them. And next to my husband. And with you,” she added.Read the original article on Insider
Read original article here.
Written by: mdescalsota@insider.com (Marielle Descalsota)