Ukraine Aid Is Investment Not Charity, President Zelensky Tells US Lawmakers - BBC News

Dec 22, 2022 | Ukraine is "alive and kicking" and will never surrender, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, in an address to US lawmakers on his first foreign trip since Russia's invasion. US military aid to Ukraine was not charity, but an investment in global security for the future, Mr Zelensky said. His appeal comes amid signs US support is likely to face greater scrutiny by Republican lawmakers in Congress. But President Joe Biden vowed to stick by Ukraine "for as long as it takes", pledging a new $2bn (£1.7bn) aid package and promising a further $45bn (£37bn).

President Zelensky Meets President Biden at the White House - BBC News

Dec 21, 2022 | In his first foreign visit since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, President Zelensky travelled to the US to meet President Joe Biden. In a historic meeting at the White House in Washington DC, the two spoke about extra support being pledged by the US to help the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. President Zelensky also presented President Biden with a Ukrainian captain's medal on behalf of those fighting in Ukraine.

My Next Guest with David Letterman and Volodymyr Zelenskyy | Official Clip | Netflix

Dec 7, 2022 | David Letterman travels to Kyiv, Ukraine for an in-depth conversation with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a secret underground bunker.

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Volodymyr Zelensky and the Spirit of Ukraine: TIME Person of the Year 2022

Dec 7, 2022 | Zelensky’s success as a wartime leader has relied on the fact that courage is contagious. It spread through Ukraine’s political leadership in the first days of the invasion, as everyone realized the President had stuck around. If that seems like a natural thing for a leader to do in a crisis, consider historical precedent. Only six months earlier, the President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani—a far more experienced leader than Zelensky—fled his capital as Taliban forces approached. In 2014, one of Zelensky’s predecessors, Viktor Yanukovych, ran away from Kyiv as protesters closed in on his residence; he still lives in Russia today. Early in the Second World War, the leaders of Albania, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Poland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Yugoslavia, among others, fled the advance of the German Wehrmacht and lived out the war in exile.

There wasn’t much in Zelensky’s biography to predict his willingness to stand and fight. He had never served in the military or shown much interest in its affairs. He had only been President since April 2019. His professional instincts derived from a lifetime as an actor on the stage, a specialist in improv comedy, and a producer in the movie business.

That experience turned out to have its advantages. Zelensky was adaptable, trained not to lose his nerve under pressure. He knew how to read a crowd and react to its moods and expectations. Now his audience was the world. He was determined not to let them down.


Guerre en Ukraine : Volodymyr Zelensky désigné personnalité de l'année 2022 par le Time Magazine : Le magazine américain a également rendu hommage à l'«esprit de l'Ukraine». »

Zelensky Derides Musk’s Peace Proposal for Ukraine and Russia

During an interview at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine rebuked Elon Musk’s peace proposal that included ceding territory to Russia.

Even During War, Ukraine's Zelensky Works to Advance LGBTQ+ Rights

ADVOCATE: The actor-turned-national hero, one of The Advocate's people of the year, continues to inspire.

A former standup comedian who became president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky is a Jewish man who has become a global hero for standing up to a tyrant. Against all odds, Zelensky has led his nation to successfully rebuff the efforts of a world superpower bent on assassinating him and taking political control of his country.

In refusing to surrender to Russia, he inspired his fellow Ukrainians (including 90-year-old grandmothers) to take up arms. His rousing speeches in defense of democracy, peace, and equality have moved the international community to support his cause with billions of dollars of military and humanitarian aid. His insistence that war crimes be documented in real time (and the power of social media during war time) is forcing us all to confront the horrors that can be committed in the name of nationalism and the whims of a despot. » | By Editors | Tuesday, October 25, 2022

War in Ukraine: Zelenskyy Advisor Rejects Kremlin's Call for Talks | Conflict Zone

A senior advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says nuclear threats from Vladimir Putin need to be taken seriously, but told DW's Tim Sebastian that this is not the first time the Kremlin has sought to blackmail the world.

Ihor Zhovkva, who works in the president's office in Kyiv, said the world's nuclear powers needed to convince Putin to step back from nuclear threats as Russian forces continue to suffer setbacks in Ukraine — but that for now the only talks that will take place with the Kremlin are on the battlefield.

Zhovkva said that if Russia was serious about negotiations, it would not have conducted sham "referendums" in occupied Ukrainian regions and illegally annexed the territories. Zhovkva also underlined that Ukraine would continue to seek the prosecution of war criminals and the assistance of international organizations and partners to collect evidence. He said those Ukrainians who willingly collaborated with Russian occupiers would face punishment.

Zelensky Says Russia’s Retreat Is a Sign of Its Weak Position in the East

A photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service of President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday in Kyiv. | Ukrainian Presidential Press Service, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine quickly sought to capitalize politically on the Russian retreat from the crucial rail hub of Lyman, saying that it showed that Moscow’s attempt to illegally annex much of the country was an “absolute farce.”

On Friday, after Russian-appointed officials held discredited referendums in four partially occupied areas of Ukraine, the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, announced that the areas, including Donetsk Province, where Lyman is, would be absorbed into Russia and that its people would be Russian citizens “forever.”

Mr. Putin claimed the residents in those provinces had voted overwhelmingly to join the Russian Federation, but Ukraine and its Western allies dismissed the referendums as shams, as most of the citizens had fled the region and many of those left behind were forced to cast ballots at gunpoint. » | James C. McKinley Jr. | Sunday, October 2, 2022

Ukraine Makes NATO Membership Bid Following Putin's Annexation of Four Ukrainian Regions

Ukraine’s president says his country is submitting an “accelerated” application to join the NATO transatlantic military alliance. Kyiv’s move follows Moscow’s formal annexation of four partly occupied regions.

“We are taking our decisive step by signing Ukraine’s application for accelerated accession to NATO,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post issued in the wake of Russia’s annexation announcement.

Ascension to NATO requires the unanimous approval of all 30 of the alliance’s member states. Prior to launching its offensive in late February, Russia had insisted on guarantees from the West that Ukraine would never join NATO.

Ukraine War: Russia Wants to Destroy Europeans' Normal Life, Zelensky Warns

EPA
BBC: Russia wants to destroy the normal life of every European citizen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

"It is trying to attack with poverty and political chaos where it cannot yet attack with missiles," Mr Zelensky said in his regular address on Saturday.

He was speaking hours after Russia said that its main gas pipeline to Europe would not reopen as planned.

Europe accused Russia of using its gas supplies to blackmail Europe amid the Ukraine conflict, which Moscow denies.

Energy prices have soared since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February and scarce supplies could push up costs even further.

There are growing fears families in the EU will be unable to afford the cost of heating this winter.

Governments across the continent are contemplating what measures to take to alleviate the crisis.

Germany - one of the countries worst affected by the Russian supply disruption - announced a €65bn (£56bn) package of help on Sunday.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Russia was no longer a reliable energy partner. » | BBC | Sunday, September 4, 2022

EU under Pressure to Ban Russian Tourists from Europe

THE GUARDIAN: Ukrainian president says Russians ‘should live in their own world until they change their philosophy’

The EU has been urged to introduce a travel ban on Russian tourists with some member states saying visiting Europe was “a privilege, not a human right” for holidaymakers.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an interview with the Washington Post that the “most important sanction” was to “close the borders, because the Russians are taking away someone else’s land”. Russians should “live in their own world until they change their philosophy”, he said.

The Ukrainian president’s call was backed by Estonia’s prime minister, Kaja Kallas, who tweeted that visiting Europe was “a privilege, not a human right”, adding: “Time to end tourism from Russia. Stop issuing tourist visas to Russians.”

Finland’s prime minister, Sanna Marin, has aired the same frustrations, telling public broadcaster YLE that it was “not right that while Russia is waging an aggressive, brutal war of aggression in Europe, Russians can live a normal life, travel in Europe, be tourists.” » | Jon Henley | Wednesday, August 10, 2022

EU Leaders to Grant Ukraine Candidate Status in Blow to Putin

THE GUARDIAN: Brussels has dramatically accelerated the process, amid outrage over the brutality of the unprovoked Russian attack

Ursula von der Leyen and Volodymyr Zelenskiy as seen on 11 June. Zelenskiy said: ‘This is like going into the light from the darkness.’ Photograph: Natacha Pisarenko/AP
European leaders are poised to grant Ukraine candidate status, in a historic decision that opens the door to EU membership for the war-torn country and deals a blow to Vladimir Putin.

EU leaders meeting in Brussels are expected to approve Ukraine’s candidate status later on Thursday, nearly four months after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy launched his country’s bid to join the bloc in the early days of the Russian invasion.

The move from applicant to candidate usually takes years, but the EU has dramatically accelerated the process, amid outrage over the brutality of the unprovoked Russian attack, and to show solidarity with Ukraine’s defenders.

“Ukraine is going through hell for a simple reason: its desire to join the EU,” tweeted the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, on the eve of the summit. The commission last week called on EU leaders to grant Ukraine’s candidate status. “Our opinion acknowledges the immense progress that [Ukrainian] democracy has achieved since the Maidan protests of 2014,” Von der Leyen said.

Welcoming the expected positive decision, Zelenskiy said: “This is like going into the light from the darkness.” » | Jennifer Rankin | in Brussels | Thursday, June 23, 2022

Volodymyr Zelenskyy: ‘No-one Is Humiliating Ukraine. They Are Killing Us’ | FT

Jun 7, 2022 • FT editor Roula Khalaf talks to Ukrainian president Zelenskyy about Macron's warnings on Putin, his aims in war and a future peace, and Boris Johnson's confidence vote

Major Exclusive: One-on-one with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky | 60 Minutes Australia

When Russian dictator Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, he arrogantly expected to conquer it easily. He was wrong. Despite being badly outnumbered and completely outgunned, Ukrainian soldiers have shown extraordinary fight. And leading the resistance has been their President Volodymyr Zelensky. His transformation from former actor and comedian to hero of the free world is inspirational. As one observer put it, he's Charlie Chaplin morphed into Winston Churchill. Now he wants to talk to Australia, and he's invited us into his secret inner sanctum to explain the horror show that is this ongoing war.

Russian Invasion of Ukraine Only 'a Beginning', Zelenskiy Warns

THE GUARDIAN: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is only the beginning and comments by a senior Russian commander on Friday indicate Moscow will attack other countries too, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has warned in his latest nightly address.

This only confirms what I have said many times: the Russian invasion of Ukraine was intended only as a beginning, then they want to capture other countries » | Clea Skopeliti (now);Helen Livingstone (earlier) | Saturday, April 23, 2022

Zelensky Says Ukraine Takes ‘as Seriously as Possible’ an Apparent Threat of Russian Chemical Weapon Use.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine in his latest address seized on an apparent Russian threat to use chemical weapons against the remaining defenders of Mariupol, as they prepare for what he called a “new stage of terror against Ukraine.”

Mr. Zelensky’s comments came after Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the Kremlin-backed, separatist Donetsk People’s Republic, said on Russian television that Russia should bring in “chemical forces” to use in Mariupol, the besieged southern city. He said the remaining Ukrainian forces in Mariupol were dug in at a steel plant and that Russia should encircle it and “smoke out the moles.”

Referring to those remarks, Mr. Zelensky said in his latest video address, “We take this as seriously as possible.” The video was posted online Monday in the United States, and shortly after midnight on Tuesday in Ukraine. » | Jesus Jiménez | Monday, April 11, 2022

'Murderers, Torturers, Rapists': Zelensky Accuses Russia of ‘War Crimes’ Near Kyiv

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an address called the actions of the Russian military "war crimes", following reports of atrocities allegedly committed by the Russian forces in Bucha, near Kyiv.

Experts believe the violence was premeditated, consistent with Russian methods in past wars such as Chechnya, where brutalising civilians was seen as an effective method of crushing resistance.

After Kyiv sleeper suburb Bucha was liberated after being under siege for a month, those entering over the weekend found scenes from a horror movie that for local residents had been their final inescapable reality.

Putin's Antithesis: How Does Zelenskyy's Political Communication Work? | DW News

Apr 3, 2022 • Volodymyr Zelenskyy has undergone an extraordinary transformation from an entertainer dancing in high heels to a wartime leader in green khaki t-shirts. Zelenskyy's regular selfie-style addresses have won him the eyes and ears, as well as the hearts, of many at home and abroad. He has also received standing ovations from politicians around the world. Many say that much of his remarkable success in leading his country against Russia’s invasion stems from what he says and how he says it. But how exactly does Zelenskyy communicate?

War in Ukraine: The Economist Interviews President Zelensky | The Economist

Mar 28, 2022 • Volodymyr Zelensky talks to The Economist’s editor-in-chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, in his Kyiv complex dubbed “the fortress”. In a wide-ranging interview, the Ukrainian president discusses the state of the war, the international support he needs and what a Ukrainian victory would look like.

I have great respect for this man. He is true leader. And the West should do even more to help the beleaguered Ukrainians. They are fighting not only for their country's liberty; they are also fighting for the continued liberty of the West as a whole. If Russia wins this war, it will be a victory of autocracy over democracy. Then we will have something to look forward to! It is a shame, an absolute shame, that so many Western leaders have so little courage to take the bold steps necessary to help these besieged people. – Mark

Zelensky 'Ready to Discuss Neutral Status' in Ukraine-Russia Peace Deal - BBC News

Mar 28, 2022 • President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine is prepared to discuss adopting a neutral status as part of a peace deal with Russia. But the Ukrainian president said it would have to go to a referendum and be guaranteed by third parties.

He made the comments in an interview with independent Russian journalists.

The next round of face-to-face negotiations between Ukraine and Russia take place this week in Turkey.


Zelensky Gives Interview to Russian Journalists. Moscow Orders It Quashed. »