(The Hill) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has emerged as a hero to his nation’s citizens and far beyond as the former actor and comedian remains in his country at great personal risk during its bombardment by Russia.
Zelenskyy talked at the Belarus border Monday with Russia to end the military conflict, but he has been on the ground in the capital city of Kyiv, where he has issued a series of videos urging Ukrainians to resist the invasion.
“I am here. We will not lay down any weapons. We will defend our state, because our weapons are our truth,” he said in one clip filmed outside his office in Kyiv. “Our truth is that this is our land, our country, our children and we will protect all of this. This is what I wanted to tell you. Glory to Ukraine.”
Zelenskyy was previously perhaps best known in the United States for the role he played in the controversy surrounding former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment. He was pressured by Trump and his allies to investigate then-candidate Joe Biden and his family for corruption.
In today’s crisis facing his country, Zelenskyy has won praise across the political spectrum in the United States for sticking at home and producing a series of videos urging Ukrainians to resist the Russian invasion.
“The world is standing up, frankly, in ways I haven’t seen since 9/11,” Sen. Rob Portman said.
The political novice won election in grand style in 2019, but polls suggested he was getting mixed reviews from the public before the invasion.
Zelenskyy has become a leader for all Ukrainians to rally around as civilians take up arms to slow the Russian advance. And the risk to his own life is something that has resonated with the people. Zelenskyy has said that Russia has “marked” him as its top target, believing that by killing the leader, support for the resistance would disappear. He pointedly noted that his family was Russian target “No. 2.”
When the Biden administration offered to get Zelenskyy securely out of the country, he refused, asking for ammunition instead.
