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 . [235] In August 2022, he said China had the economic leverage to pressure Putin to end the war, adding "Im sure that without the Chinese market for the Russian Federation, Russia would be feeling complete economic isolation. [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. Kyiv, Ukraine. Leave our land. The series aired from 2015 to 2019 and was immensely popular. Critics said it risked increasing media censorship in Ukraine[97] because its clause of criminal responsibility for the distribution of disinformation could be abused. "[194] Zelenskyy said he was "99.9 percent sure" that Putin thought the Ukrainians would welcome the invading forces with "flowers and smiles". 1997-2003 - Actor, performer, script writer, producer of the stand-up . Do Russians want war? The EU will be with you and your people tomorrow and for as long as it takes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presents the Order of Princess Olga, a Ukrainian civil decoration, to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a . [146], In September 2019, it was reported that U.S. president Donald Trump had allegedly blocked payment of a congressionally mandated $400 million military aid package to Ukraine to pressure Zelenskyy during a July phone call between the two presidents to investigate alleged wrongdoing by Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden,[69][147] who took a board seat on Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma Holdings. So Is Its Prime Minister. Are these people present among you? [31], Before starting elementary school, Zelenskyy lived for four years in the Mongolian city of Erdenet, where his father worked. [40] In 2018, the romantic comedy Love in the Big City 2 starring Zelenskyy was banned in Ukraine.[why? President Obama named Biden the administration's point man on Ukraine in February 2014, after a popular revolution ousted Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych and as Moscow sent. [76][77] Polish president Andrzej Duda was one of the first European leaders to congratulate Zelenskyy. [278][279] Civil rights organizations praised the statement, though criticizing its vagueness, as Zelenskyy eschewed details about legal proposals for civil partnerships. [118], In March 2020, Honchurak resigned as prime minister following the leak of an audio recording in which he appeared to belittle Zelenskyy's economic management. WASHINGTON Two Russian billionaires who have managed to dodge US sanctions over Moscow's year-old invasion of Ukraine went property shopping with Hunter Biden, dined with then-Vice . [84] Zelenskyy is the first Jewish president; with Volodymyr Groysman as prime minister, Ukraine became the first country other than Israel to simultaneously have a Jewish head of state and head of government. [266][267] As he considered the leaders of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic (DPR and LPR) to be Russia's "puppets", it would "make no sense to speak with them". [101], In June 2021, Zelenskyy submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a bill creating a public registry of Ukraine's oligarchs, banning them from participating in privatizations of state-owned companies, and forbidding them from contributing financially to politicians. [289], On 27 March 2022, Slovakia awarded Zelenskyy one of the country's top awards, the State Award of Alexander Dubek. [70] Although Zelenskyy initially said he would only serve a single term, he walked back this promise in May 2021, saying he had not yet made up his mind. . He made the comment after he was asked about an online petition calling to lift a prohibition on Ukrainian men leaving Ukraine. CPAC Straw Poll: Trump Wins in Blow Out - Donald Trump dominated the 2023 CPAC Straw Poll. Eduard Heger, the Slovak prime minister, compared the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. People. [249] Zelenskyy's election manifesto mentioned tariffs only oncethat money raised from a capital amnesty would go towards "lowering the tariff burden on low-income citizens". And if the Russian leadership does not want to sit down at the table with us for the sake of peace, then perhaps, they will sit down at the table with you. [19] Zelenskyy grew up speaking Russian. The society will not forgive them", adding that "It will be the choice of our society whether to talk to them, or not to talk at all, and for how many years, tens of years or more. Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak is convinced that by their heroic struggle against Russian aggression, Ukrainians have reminded the world of the true values of democracy and freedom, which always prevail. "The Polish government announced Tuesday that it was putting its fleet of MiG jets at American disposal to supply to Ukraine . His office said Zelenskyy paid for the entire trip himself. United States government official. [64][59] During the campaign, concerns were raised over his links to the oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi,[65] a billionaire businessman who had gained control of the 1+1 Media Group in 2010. [114], Following the elections, Zelenskyy nominated Oleksiy Honcharuk as prime minister, who was quickly confirmed by parliament. [268] In the interview he also said that if he were elected president he would not sign a law on amnesty for the militants of the DPR and LPR. [255] The programme also states that Zelenskyy "will do everything to ensure" that Ukraine can apply for European Union membership in 2024. [4]:710 His party won a landslide victory in the snap legislative election held shortly after his inauguration as president. Their son, Kyrylo, was born in January 2013. [234] On 25 May 2022, Zelenskyy said that he was satisfied with China's policy of staying away from the conflict. 1:23 144.1K views 625 1,381 10.2K It's been a rough first year as vice president for Kamala Harris. 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. [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. ", "Leaders of Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia to visit Kyiv on Tuesday", "A Zelensky Deepfake Was Quickly Defeated. [135] The same day, internet news site Obozrevatel.com released information that on 7 January 2020, Ukrainian politician of the Opposition Platform For Life Viktor Medvedchuk who has exclusive relations with the current president of Russia may have arrived in Oman. President of Ukraine. [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. Please submit all media inquiries to interviews@usip.org or call 202.429.3869. [113], In the 21 July 2019 parliamentary election, Zelenskyy's political party, Servant of the People, won the first single-party majority in modern Ukrainian history in parliament, with 43 per cent of the party-list vote. 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. [273], Although Zelenskyy prefers elections with open list election ballots, after he called the snap 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election his draft law "On amendments to some laws of Ukraine in connection with the change of the electoral system for the election of people's deputies" proposed to hold the election with closed list because the 60-day term to the snap election did not "leave any chances for the introduction of this system". According to Zelenskyy, since the beginning of the invasion, Chinese President Xi Jinping had refused to speak with him. [202] The video is considered to be the first use of deepfake technology in a global-scale disinformation attack. [281], In September 2003, Zelenskyy married Olena Kiyashko, with whom he had attended school and university. [270], Zelenskyy opposes the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, calling it "a dangerous weapon, not only for Ukraine but for the whole of Europe. [136][137] Soon, rumors began that Zelenskyy may have had some additional meetings beside the ones that were announced. "[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? Ukraine and all of Europe will win! [200], On 15 March 2022, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, together with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jana, visited Kyiv to meet with Zelenskyy in a display of support for Ukraine. From 21 January until 18 April 2019 Zelenskyy did not give interviews. "[258], In February 2022, he applied for Ukraine to join the European Union. [262], In a 2014 interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda in Ukraine, Zelenskyy said that he would have liked to pay a visit to Crimea, but would avoid it because "armed people are there". He has positioned himself as an anti-establishment and anti-corruption figure. [201] On 16 March 2022, a deepfake appeared online of Zelenskyy calling on Ukrainian citizens to surrender to Russia. 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. [195], On 7 March 2022, as a condition for ending the invasion, the Kremlin demanded Ukraine's neutrality; recognition of Crimea, which had been annexed by Russia, as Russian territory; and recognition of the self-proclaimed separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states. In Zelenskyy's 2014 movie 8 New Dates, their daughter played Sasha, the daughter of the protagonist. If you don't want to leave now, sit down with me at the negotiating table. [9] His administration faced an escalation of tensions with Russia in 2021, culminating in the launch of an ongoing full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. [120] In his 4 March address to the Rada,[121] Zelenskyy recommitted to reforms domestic and financial, and remarked that he "cannot always become a psychologist for people, a crisis manager for someone, a collector who requires honestly earned money, and a nanny of the ministry in charge. This has been going on a long time. "[237] The study published by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) calculates that the EU paid Russia about 56 billion for fossil fuel deliveries in the three months following the start of Russia's invasion. More From Britannica [177][178][179], More than 90% of Ukrainians supported the actions of Zelenskyy,[180] including more than 90% in western and central Ukraine and more than 80% in Russian-speaking regions in eastern and southern Ukraine. "I wish Putin was president of America . [86], On 28 May, Zelenskyy restored the Ukrainian citizenship of Mikheil Saakashvili. [50][51] Although Zelenskyy denied any immediate plans to enter politics and said he had registered the party name only to prevent it being appropriated by others,[52] there was widespread speculation that he was planning to run. ", " ", "Ukraine bans 38 Russian 'hate' books amid culture war", " - "", " , ", "Volodymyr Zelensky in major lead in Ukraine presidential election runoff: Biography, quotes", Pandora Papers Reveal Offshore Holdings of Ukrainian President and his Inner Circle, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, "Revealed: 'anti-oligarch' Ukrainian president's offshore connections", "Lawyer Zelenskyy has registered a new political party "Servant of the people", "The boundary of a joke. Zelenskyy met personally with some of these groups and tried to convince them to surrender their unregistered weapons and accept the peace accord. [199] However, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was considering giving the Russian language protected minority status. He has made numerous addresses to the legislatures of the EU,[204][205] UK,[206] Poland,[207] Australia,[208] Canada,[209] US,[210] Germany,[211] Israel,[212] Italy,[213] Japan,[214] the Netherlands,[215] Romania,[216] and the Nordic countries. The government of Ukraine understands and is conscious that the money is given only to those countries that actually overcome and fight corruption. [45], Zelenskyy worked mostly in Russian-language productions. Zelenskyy announced his candidacy in the 2019 presidential election on the evening of 31 December 2018, alongside the New Year's Eve address of then-president Petro Poroshenko on the TV channel 1+1. [124] The deal was met with heavy criticism and protests by both politicians and the Ukrainian public. Homeownership is an essential part of the American dream. While Denys Shmyhal, the prime minister of Ukraine, would likely be considered the next most senior official, Ruslan Stefanchuk, the. [241] Following Putin's announcement of Russia annexing four regions of Ukrainian territory it had seized during its invasion, Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine would not hold peace talks with Russia while Putin was president. Taras Gorbul, FOUNDER & CEO of Superheroes.marketing, Vice President of the Ukrainian-Swiss Business Association, and a Board Member of the NGO "Superheroes of Who can prevent this? [55], Zelenskyy's presidential campaign against Poroshenko was almost entirely virtual. [181] A Pew Research Center poll found that 72% of Americans had confidence in Zelenskyy's handling of international affairs. Born to a Ukrainian Jewish family, Zelenskyy grew up as a native Russian speaker in Kryvyi Rih, a major city of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in central Ukraine. At the heart of Congress' probe into the president's actions is his claim that former Vice President and 2020 Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden strong-armed the Ukrainian government to fire. [175] In an early morning address that day, Zelenskyy said that his intelligence services had identified him as Russia's top target, but that he is staying in Kyiv and his family will remain in the country. [156], In April 2021, in response to Russian military build-up at the Ukrainian borders, Zelenskyy spoke to American president Joe Biden and urged NATO members to speed up Ukraine's request for membership. Later, the movie was dubbed into Ukrainian. By Jennifer Hassan. 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. The vice president also serves as the presiding officer of the U.S. Senate, a role that is mostly ceremonial but that gives the vice president the tie-breaking vote when the Senate is deadlocked. His first role in the Ukrainian language was the romantic comedy I, You, He, She,[46] which appeared on the screens of Ukraine in December 2018. Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., was born November 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the first of four siblings. 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. "[159][160] In December 2021, Zelenskyy called for preemptive action against Russia. ( )", "Zelensky's childhood friend appointed SBU's first deputy chief (Document)", " ", " . [83] Various foreign officials attended the ceremony in Ukraine's parliament (Verkhovna Rada), including Salome Zourabichvili (Georgia), Kersti Kaljulaid (Estonia), Raimonds Vjonis (Latvia), Dalia Grybauskait (Lithuania), Jnos der (Hungary), Maro efovi (European Union), and Rick Perry (United States). Joe Biden's presidential administration has formally concluded that Russia has committed crimes against humanity during its nearly year-long invasion of Ukraine, US vice-president Kamala Harris . I separately would like focus on the corruption issue. Donald Trump. But not from 30 meters away, like with Macron and Scholz. Mr. Vice President, we value the level of technical assistance that is provided by the government of the United States. His party gained 254 of the 424 seats. [161], On 19 January 2022, Zelenskyy said in a video message that the country's citizens should not panic and appealed to the media to be "methods of mass information and not mass hysteria. We voted for one Poroshenko, but received another. He said this on the air of the American TV channel Fox News. [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. [275][276] In April 2019, he stated that he was not against a Ukrainian language quota (on radio and TV), although he noted they could be tweaked. ", "Ukraine adopts new and improved referendum law", "Ukraine's referendum law passed during Yanukovych's presidency designated as unconstitutional", "Zelenskyy speeds up corruption crackdown, one oligarch at a time", "Ukrainian lawmakers pass law on oligarchs after assassination attempt", "Ukraine: why Volodymyr Zelensky is pursuing a disruptive agenda", " . [82], Zelenskyy was inaugurated on 20 May 2019. 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. People. [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. [39] Since 2015, Ukraine has banned Russian artists and other Russian works of culture from entering Ukraine. [145], In August 2019, Zelenskyy promised to lift the moratorium on exhuming Polish mass graves in Ukraine after the previous Ukrainian government banned the Polish side from carrying out any exhumations of Polish victims of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army-perpetrated Volhynian massacres, following the removal of a memorial to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in Hruszowice, southeastern Poland. A collection of sixteen of Zelenskyy's speeches as president have been collected in a book. March 12, 2022 After war began last month, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine turned to Mykhailo Fedorov, a vice prime minister, for a key role. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood . Trump called Zelensky on July 25 to congratulate the new president of Ukraine on his election. "[271], On 25 May 2022, Zelenskyy said that "Ukraine will fight until it regains all its territories.