[234] On 25 May 2022, Zelenskyy said that he was satisfied with China's policy of staying away from the conflict. [50][51][62] On 16 April 2019, a few days before the election, 20 Ukrainian news outlets called on Zelenskyy to "stop avoiding journalists". . As president, Zelenskyy has been a proponent of e-government and of unity between the Ukrainian and Russian speaking parts of the country's population. Critics of Zelenskyy's administration have claimed that, in taking power away from the Ukrainian oligarchs, he has sought to centralize authority and strengthen his personal position. [96], 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. 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. [268], In response to suggestions to the contrary, he stated in April 2019 that he regarded Russian president Vladimir Putin "as an enemy". "[185] 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. I separately would like focus on the corruption issue. [220] In March 2022, Zelenskyy supported the suspension of 11 Ukrainian political parties with ties to Russia: the Socialist Party of Ukraine, Derzhava, Left Opposition, Nashi, Opposition Bloc, Opposition Platform For Life, Party of Shariy, Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, Union of Leftists, and the Volodymyr Saldo Bloc. [133] 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 per cent compared to the previous year. Vitaliy. [106] 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). MUNICH Vice President Kamala Harris declared on Saturday that the United States had formally concluded that Russia has committed "crimes against humanity" in its invasion of Ukraine, and. "[258], In February 2022, he applied for Ukraine to join the European Union. The claim: Joe Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion from Ukraine to assist his son, Hunter Biden While former Vice President Joe Biden oversaw foreign policy in Ukraine, his son Hunter. Just like people in Ukraine. Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Chairman, members of the Rada, ladies and gentlemen, I am deeply honored to be invited to speak to you today at a moment marked by great opportunity . [58] 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". "[123], One of Zelenskyy's central campaign promises had been to end the Russo-Ukrainian War and resolve the Russia-sponsored separatist movement there. 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. [27][28][29][30] In March 2022, Zelenskyy said that his great-grandparents had been killed after German troops burned their home to the ground during a massacre. In remarks to reporters in Houston, Trump described his conversation with the Ukrainian. [4]:1113 His communication style makes extensive use of social media, particularly Instagram. I don't bite. Nausda wyrni ukraiskiego odpowiednika", "Prezydent Ukrainy W. Zeeski odznaczony Nagrod Ora Jana Karskiego", "UK's Johnson gives Churchill award to Ukraine's Zelenskyy", "Zelenskyy wins Ronald Reagan Freedom Award", "Zelenskyy gets John F. Kennedy award for defending democracy", "Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi gen. et sp. After starting at Domino's Pizza in 1992 in Montreal, Canada as a part-time job, he decided to take on the challenge of being a store manager for one of Montreal's original four shops. "[149], On a trip to the United States in September 2021, Zelenskyy engaged in talks and commitments with U.S. president Joe Biden,[150] Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm,[151] and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Two of those attempts were carried out by the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary force, and the third by the Kadyrovites, the personal guard of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Zelenskyy said: "We support Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty just as Azerbaijan always supports our territorial integrity and sovereignty. [256] 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". whitehouse.gov. Regular people. [141], 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. [291], Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi, an extinct species of feather star described on 20 July 2022 by a group of Polish paleontologists, is named after Zelenskyy "for his courage and bravery in defending free Ukraine".[304][305]. The first appears when there are video cameras, the other Petro sends Medvedchuk privietiki (greetings) to Moscow". A Ukrainian lawmaker who met with Rudolph W. Giuliani late last year released recordings of private phone calls several years ago between Vice President Joe Biden and Petro Poroshenko, then . [60][61] He styled himself as an anti-establishment, anti-corruption figure, although he was not generally described as a populist. Vice President Harris's trip to Germany in the midst of the Ukraine crisis this past . Vitold Fokin was approved as the first Prime Minister of Ukraine . 17 February 2023. [104] Are these people present among you? [136][137] Soon, rumors began that Zelenskyy may have had some additional meetings beside the ones that were announced. [108] A number of the members of the Presidential Administration Zelenskyy appointed were former colleagues from his former production company, Kvartal 95,[106] including Ivan Bakanov, who became deputy head of the Ukrainian Secret Service. [140] Later, Yermak contacted the on-line newspaper Ukrainian Truth and gave more details about the visit to Oman and the plane crash in Iran. Honchurak was replaced as prime minister Denys Shmyhal. [88], 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. [201] On 16 March 2022, a deepfake appeared online of Zelenskyy calling on Ukrainian citizens to surrender to Russia. Mr. President, fellow ladies and gentlemen, journalists and everyone in this room, the team of President Biden: I'm very happy to welcome you in. [56] In place of traditional campaign rallies, he conducted stand-up comedy routines across Ukraine with his production company Kvartal 95. Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., represented Delaware for 36 years in the U.S. Senate before becoming the 47th and current Vice President of the United States. Prior to the elections, Zelenskyy presented a team that included former finance minister Oleksandr Danylyuk and others. ", "How Ukraine's Presidential Race Is Shaping Up", "Comedian faces scrutiny over oligarch ties in Ukraine presidential race", "Volodymyr Zelensky: April 1 an awesome day for a clown to win", "Ukraine media demands access to runoff frontrunner Zelensky", "The World Just Witnessed the First Entirely Virtual Presidential Campaign", "Ukraine election: Why comic Zelenskiy is real threat to Poroshenko", "Crowdsourcer In Chief: Ukrainian Funnyman Takes Unorthodox Path To Top Of Presidential Pack", "Zelensky: Party "Servant of the people" goes into politics", " " " ", "Ukraine elections: actor and comedian poised to win crushing victory", "Ukraine election: Poroshenko attacks Zelensky before runoff", "Rivals in Ukraine's presidential runoff hold bitter debate at sports stadium", "How the Ukraine Scandal Looks in Ukraine", " vs : ", " : , ", " : "", " , ", " ", "Central Election Commission of Ukraine Ukrainian Presidential Election 2019 (first round)", "Ukraine election: Comedian Zelensky wins presidency by landslide", "Election of President of Ukraine 2019 Repeat voting", " ", " ", "Ukraine vaults into unknown after comic elected president", "Joint letter of President Tusk and President Juncker to Volodymyr Zelensky, President-elect of Ukraine Consilium", "Ukraine's New President Vows To Dissolve Parliament As PM, Other Key Officials Resign", "Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised international partners that the world would be proud of Ukraine", "New Ukraine President Zelensky calls snap election", "Zelensky may dissolve parliament despite People's Front withdrawal from coalition expert", "Georgia's Saakashvili has Ukrainian citizenship restored", "UAWire Ukrainian parliament rejects Zelensky's proposal to change election system", " , ", "Quick win for Zelenskiy as Ukraine parliament strips lawmakers' immunity", "Zelensky cancels Independence Day parade on August 24 citing costs", "Zelensky cancels Independence Day military parade, gives money to soldiers | KyivPost Ukraine's Global Voice", "No Independence Day parade to be held this year, Zelensky says", "Bonuses instead of parade: Ukraine's leader takes surprising decision", "Voice of America: Journalists see censorship in Ukraine's proposed media laws", "Journalists See Specter of Censorship in Ukraine's Proposed Media Law", " " ", " . [73], 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. [6][7][8], During his presidential campaign, Zelenskyy promised to end Ukraine's protracted conflict with Russia, and he has attempted to engage in dialogue with Russian president Vladimir Putin. [42][43][c] Once again, Zelenskyy spoke out against the intention of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture to ban Russian artists from Ukraine.[39]. [19] The family lives in Kyiv. [182], Zelenskyy has gained worldwide recognition as the wartime leader of Ukraine during the Russian invasion; historian Andrew Roberts compared him to Winston Churchill. [166][167], On 19 February, as worries of a Russian invasion of Ukraine grew, Zelenskyy warned the Munich Security Conference that Western nations should abandon their "appeasement" attitude toward Moscow. [125] 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. 1997-2003 - Actor, performer, script writer, producer of the stand-up . [231] On 25 May 2022, he said that Ukraine would not agree to peace until Russia agreed to return Crimea and the Donbas region to Ukraine. [19] He recorded the voice of Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian dubbing of Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017). [238], On 20 June 2022, Zelenskyy addressed African Union (AU) representatives via videoconference. [76][77] Polish president Andrzej Duda was one of the first European leaders to congratulate Zelenskyy. [126][127] The two leaders also discussed the exchange of prisoners held by both sides. We will not forgive. Russian missiles struck a number of military targets in Ukraine, and Zelenskyy declared martial law. Symbolic moment today in Munich as Ukraine's President Zelenskyy stood side by side with Vice President Harris just days ahead of what the U.S. says is a planned Russian attack on Ukraine. [179][189] During the invasion, Zelenskyy has been reportedly the target of more than a dozen assassination attempts; three were prevented due to tips from Russian FSB employees who opposed the invasion. [239] On 20 July 2022, South America's Mercosur trade bloc refused Zelenskyy's request to speak at the trade bloc's summit in Paraguay. [127] 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. President Joe Biden is being briefed "regularly" on the situation in Ukraine by his national security team at the White House this weekend, press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. In 1997 . [129], 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 Zelenskyy's first face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin. "[194] Zelenskyy said he was "99.9 percent sure" that Putin thought the Ukrainians would welcome the invading forces with "flowers and smiles". [176] 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 Erdoan urged Zelenskyy to evacuate to a safer location, and both offered assistance for such an effort. [124] On 3 June, Zelenskyy appointed former president Leonid Kuchma as Ukraine's representative in the Tripartite Contact Group for a settlement in the conflict. He invited African leaders for virtual meeting but only four of them attended. During the war in Donbas, he actively supported the Ukrainian army. [56] 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.[63]. The EU will be with you and your people tomorrow and for as long as it takes. And the truth is that this needs to stop, before it is too late. We voted for one Poroshenko, but received another. "[236], On 30 May 2022, Zelenskyy criticized EU leaders for being too soft on Russia and asked, "Why can Russia still earn almost a billion euros a day by selling energy? From 1998 to 2003, Kvartal 95 performed in the Major League and the highest open Ukrainian league of KVN, and the team members spent a lot of time in Moscow and constantly toured around post-Soviet countries. [79] On 22 April, U.S. president Donald Trump congratulated Zelenskyy on his victory over the telephone. During the first two years of his administration, Zelenskyy oversaw the lifting of legal immunity for members of parliament (the Verkhovna Rada),[5] the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic recession, and some limited progress in tackling corruption in Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the president of the Ukraine. [138] On 14 January 2020, Andriy Yermak dismissed the rumors as speculations and baseless conspiracy theories,[139] while Medvedchuk stated that the plane was used by his older daughter's family to fly from Oman to Moscow.