Meet Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian Jew who went from comedian to wartime leader

When Volodymyr Zelensky was growing up in southeastern Ukraine, his Jewish family spoke Russian, and his father once forbade him to go to Israel to study. Instead, Zelensky studied law in Ukraine. After graduating, he found his passion in acting and comedy, becoming one of the most popular artists in the country in 2010 with the TV series “Sirviente del Pueblo”.

In that show, Zelensky played a charming high school teacher fed up with corrupt politicians who accidentally becomes president.

Zelensky reportedly rejected US evacuation offer: “I need ammunition, not a trip”

A few years later, Zelensky is indeed the president of Ukraine. On a few occasions during the run-up to the Russian invasion, the comedian turned fledgling statesman had seemed inconsistent, one day criticizing the West for spreading fear and the next for not doing enough. But his bravery and his refusal to give up in the face of missiles raining down on the capital have made him an unlikely hero to many around the world.

Showing courage, good humor and grace that have lifted the spirits of his people and impressed his counterparts in the West, the 44-year -old black-haired ex-actor has decided to stay despite saying he has a target marked on his back by invaders. Russians.

Following an offer from the United States to move him to safety, Zelesky responded on Saturday: ” I need ammunition, not a ride,” he said in Ukrainian, according to a senior US intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation.

On Saturday, Russian forces besieged Kiev on the third day of the invasion. The main objective, according to military observers, is to storm the capital to depose Zelensky and his government and appoint someone more subservient to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Zelensky’s bold stance in favor of Ukraine’s sovereignty is perhaps not what was expected from a man whose biggest political liability for years was the feeling that he was too prone to giving in to Moscow. His presidential campaign included promises that he could negotiate peace with Russia, a country that had seized Crimea from Ukraine and given its support to two pro-Russian breakaway regions in 2014, leading to a conflict that had claimed nearly 15,000 lives.