Meet Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine, who has the world’s attention

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has become a household name today. The former comedian, who was elected as the Ukraine president in 2019, has emerged as an unlikely wartime leader as the Russian invasion continues. Refusing to leave the battlefront, he has won praise for his courage and commitment to the nation. And standing by his side is his wife Olena Zelenska.

“I am a non-public person. But the new realities require their own rules, and I’m trying to comply with them,” the first lady of Ukraine famously said during an interview with Vogue Ukraine in 2019. Today, these words seem ironic, as Russia’s “Target No 2” refuses to leave Kyiv, using her massive social media following—she has 2.1 million Instagram followers—to rally support for her conflict-hit country.

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Like husband, like wife

In her latest post published on Wednesday, she urged other first ladies who are reaching out to her to “tell the truth to the world”. “What’s happening in Russia is not a special military option as Putin says but a full-scale war, where the aggressor is the Russian Federation,” the 44-year-old wrote.

President Zelenskyy has used Twitter to his advantage, providing regular updates on his interaction with world leaders and giving out a strong message that Kyiv is not the one to back down. The first lady is not very different. In another emotional post on Sunday, she shared the picture of a child born in a bomb shelter in the capital. “{This child} was born in the Kyiv bomb shelter. Her birth was to take place in completely different conditions, under peaceful skies. It is what children should see.”

“But the main thing is that, despite the war, there were doctors and caring people on our streets next to her. She will be protected. Because you are incredible, dear compatriots,” she added.

The similarities between Zelenskyy and Zelenska only begin at their conviction.

Former classmates, the two had a career in entertainment. While her husband was a comedian and a TV actor, Zelenska always preferred “staying backstage”. She helped her husband in developing acts of “Studio Quater 95”, a production company he started, and then joined as a screenwriter.

Before taking to writing, she studied architecture at Kryvyi Rih National University. Here’s where she met Zelenskyy, then a law student and an aspiring comic.

The couple tied the knot in September 2003, years before Zelenskyy took a political plunge. They have two children, Sasha and Cyril, who also reportedly remain in Ukraine.

“My husband knows how to surprise”

When Zelenskyy ran for president, he famously did not inform his wife. She learned about it from social media after he announced a show on 1 January. “When I asked, ‘Why didn't you tell me?’, he answered, ‘I forgot,” the first lady told Vogue Ukraine in the interview.

“My husband knows how to surprise,” she joked before adding that the couple had been discussing the possibility for a while and that she had his back.

Becoming First Lady

Since then, Zelenska has adapted well to the role of the first lady of Ukraine. It took her a good six months to settle in. Though Ukraine does not have an institute for the first lady, like the United States, she has taken inspiration from her counterparts across the world to start initiatives that can benefit the nation.” Among the spouses of the presidents, there are no uninteresting personalities; each of the high ladies has something to learn from. For example, Brigitte Macron is an educator,” she had said referring to French president Emmanuel Macron’s wife.

The first lady has focussed on children’s health, equal opportunities for all her countrymen, and cultural diplomacy. Reforming school nutrition has been a priority. “The sooner children are educated to eat healthy, the easier it is to explain later that broccoli is better than sausage,” Zelenska had said in the 2019 interview.

Along with the help of experts, she has worked to solve social problems plaguing Ukraine like domestic violence. She also provides support for the Paralympics and the development of inclusive infrastructure in Ukraine. “It seems to me that we can make a lot of difference–first of all, in the attitude of society towards people with disabilities,” she had said.

In 2019, when Zelenska spoke to Vogue Ukraine, she was juggling between the roles of first lady and a scriptwriter. Today, of course, a lot has changed for her country. Back then, she had said, “My husband is always on the forefront, while I feel more comfortable in the shade.”

That shade is far gone. But Zelenska has risen to the occasion. Days after the invasion she wrote, “Today I will not panic… I will be calm and confident. My kids are watching me. I will stand by them. And by the side of my husband. And together with you.”

She continues to fight on.

With inputs from agencies

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