He was sworn in on January 20, 2021. [220] In March 2022, Zelenskyy supported the suspension of 11 Ukrainian political parties with ties to Russia: the Socialist Party of Ukraine, Derzhava, Left Opposition, Nashi, Opposition Bloc, Opposition Platform For Life, Party of Shariy, Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, Union of Leftists, and the Volodymyr Saldo Bloc. His office said Zelenskyy paid for the entire trip himself. Topline: President Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, repeatedly claimed that Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden engaged in corruption while the two had dealings in Ukraine. [89][90] In June 2019 it was announced that the president's third major initiative, which seeks to remove immunity from lawmakers, diplomats and judges, would be submitted after the July 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election. ", "The courage of Ukraine's unlikely wartime leader", " " " - ", " ()", " : , ", " - ", "ethnic Ukrainian father's farer's medal certificate", "Jewish comic who plays Ukraine president on TV leads Ukraine's presidential race", "Ukraine's Newly Elected President Is Jewish. WASHINGTON An election-year investigation by Senate Republicans into corruption allegations against Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son, Hunter, involving Ukraine found no evidence of improper . . [238], On 20 June 2022, Zelenskyy addressed African Union (AU) representatives via videoconference. Who can prevent this? The 46th and current president of the United States is Joseph R. Biden, Jr. [221][222][223] The Communist Party of Ukraine, another pro-Russia party, had already been banned in 2015 because of its support to the Donbas separatists. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the president of the Ukraine. President of Ukraine. 95 , the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ukraine's protracted conflict with Russia, an ongoing full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, Kryvyi Rih State University of Economics and Technology, Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, List of international presidential trips made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, annexing four regions of Ukrainian territory, representative of the president of Ukraine, Ukraine can apply for European Union membership, Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Honorary Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, [olodmr oleksndrowd zelnskj], [vldimr lksandrvd zlenskj], "Zelensky, Zelenskiy, Zelenskyy: Spelling Confusion Doesn't Help Ukraine", "Dear colleagues, this is the official form of the last name that the President has in his passport. [4]:710 His party won a landslide victory in the snap legislative election held shortly after his inauguration as president. This was decided by the passport service of Ukraine. [125] On 11 July 2019, Zelenskyy held his first telephone conversation with Russian president Vladimir Putin, during which he urged Putin to enter into talks mediated by European countries. What to Know About Ukraine's President", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Volodymyr_Zelenskyy&oldid=1142925028, This page was last edited on 5 March 2023, at 01:43. [155] While Zelenskyy was still in the U.S., just after delivering a speech at the United Nations, an assassination attempt was made in Ukraine on Serhiy Shefir, his closest aide. [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. "[271], On 25 May 2022, Zelenskyy said that "Ukraine will fight until it regains all its territories. [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). I know that they will not show this appeal of mine on Russian television. [227][228] As Zelenskyy ordered a general military mobilization in February 2022, he also banned men aged 18 to 60 from leaving Ukraine. But not from 30 meters away, like with Macron and Scholz. [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. 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. In 2015, Zelenskyy became the star of the television series Servant of the People, where he played the role of the president of Ukraine. [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. [56][57] He did not release a detailed policy platform[58] and his engagement with mainstream media was minimal;[56][d] he instead reached out to the electorate via social media channels and YouTube clips. [142][143] On 20 January 2020, Prystaiko followed up by giving a briefing to the press in the Office of the president of Ukraine and saying that he would explain everything about the visit that when the time came. [173] Later in the day, he announced general mobilisation. Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor . He has positioned himself as an anti-establishment and anti-corruption figure. [6][7][8], During his presidential campaign, Zelenskyy promised to end Ukraine's protracted conflict with Russia, and he has attempted to engage in dialogue with Russian president Vladimir Putin. [11] After the start of the invasion, Zelenskyy declared martial law across Ukraine and a general mobilisation of the armed forces. [128] The agreement failed to ease the conflict, as the separatists continued their attacks and Russia continued providing them with weapons and ammunition. [174] On 25 February, Zelenskyy said that despite Russia's claim that it was targeting only military sites, civilian sites were also being hit. [203], Zelenskyy has made an effort to rally the governments of Western nations in an effort to isolate Russia. "Zelensky" redirects here. [277] He also said that Russian artists "who have turned into (anti-Ukrainian) politicians" should remain banned from entering Ukraine. [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". [88], In addition, on 6 June, lawmakers refused to include Zelenskyy's key initiative on reintroducing criminal liability for illegal enrichment in the parliament's agenda, and instead included a similar bill proposed by a group of deputies. Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen "agreed on the importance of giving Ukraine the military momentum they need to secure victory against tyranny," according to a . [269] On 2 May 2019, Zelenskyy wrote on Facebook that "the border is the only thing Russia and Ukraine have in common". [34], In August 2014, Zelenskyy spoke out against the intention of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture to ban Russian artists from Ukraine. Critics said it risked increasing media censorship in Ukraine[97] because its clause of criminal responsibility for the distribution of disinformation could be abused. [291], Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi, an extinct species of feather star described on 20 July 2022 by a group of Polish paleontologists, is named after Zelenskyy "for his courage and bravery in defending free Ukraine".[304][305]. [256] Two days before the second round, Zelenskyy stated that he wanted to build "a strong, powerful, free Ukraine, which is not the younger sister of Russia, which is not a corrupt partner of Europe, but our independent Ukraine". [255] The programme also states that Zelenskyy "will do everything to ensure" that Ukraine can apply for European Union membership in 2024. During the first two years of his administration, Zelenskyy oversaw the lifting of legal immunity for members of parliament (the Verkhovna Rada),[5] the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic recession, and some limited progress in tackling corruption in Ukraine. Trump called Zelensky on July 25 to congratulate the new president of Ukraine on his election. In 2019, he served as charg d'affaires at the U.S. embassy in Kyiv and as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 2006 . They must know the truth. February 25, 2022, 11:05am. As president, Zelenskyy has been a proponent of e-government and of unity between the Ukrainian and Russian speaking parts of the country's population. The speech was widely described as "emotional" and "astonishing". Despite this, Zelenskyy highlighted that the day would "honor heroes" on Independence Day, however the "format will be new". Two of those attempts were carried out by the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary force, and the third by the Kadyrovites, the personal guard of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Chairman, members of the Rada, ladies and gentlemen, I am deeply honored to be invited to speak to you today at a moment marked by great opportunity . [79] On 22 April, U.S. president Donald Trump congratulated Zelenskyy on his victory over the telephone. Then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, right, and US Vice President Joe Biden, left, shake hands during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 16, 2017. [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. The first appears when there are video cameras, the other Petro sends Medvedchuk privietiki (greetings) to Moscow". [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. How Zelensky prepares for the election", "Could a rock star become Ukraine's next president? [267] He did not rule out holding a referendum on the issue. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena paid tribute to the victims of the 1932-1933 Holodomor (Great Famine in Ukraine of 1932-33) at a monument to the victims in Kyiv, Ukraine . [18][19][20][21] His father, Oleksandr Zelenskyy, is a professor and computer scientist and the head of the Department of Cybernetics and Computing Hardware at the Kryvyi Rih State University of Economics and Technology; his mother, Rymma Zelenska, used to work as an engineer. "The vice president's visit is meant to send a signal of reassurance and unity on the part of the United States to these Eastern NATO allies," said Olga Oliker, the Brussels-based Europe and . Vice President Kamala Harris stressed on Saturday that Russia must be held to account for its "barbaric" actions in Ukraine, telling a security conference in Munich that the United States had. He invited African leaders for virtual meeting but only four of them attended. [74] According to Zelenskyy, if people would notice that his new government "works honestly from the first day", they would start paying their taxes. 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. The comedy series Svaty ("In-laws"), in which Zelenskyy appeared, was banned in Ukraine in 2017,[44] but unbanned in March 2019. [157], On 26 November 2021, Zelenskyy accused Russia and Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov of backing a plan to overthrow his government. With regards to same-sex marriage, Zelenskyy cited a provision in the Constitution of Ukraine barring same-sex marriage, as well as a ban on wartime changes to the Constitution, ruling out an introduction of same-sex marriages during the ongoing war. Thank you for the principled defense and political support, for the clear understanding that the aggressor cannot be given a single chance. He won the election with 73.23percent of the vote in the second round, defeating Poroshenko. [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. Zelenskyy met personally with some of these groups and tried to convince them to surrender their unregistered weapons and accept the peace accord. Critics of Zelenskyy's administration have claimed that, in taking power away from the Ukrainian oligarchs, he has sought to centralize authority and strengthen his personal position. "[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. [255] The program states that Ukraine should set the goal to apply for a NATO Membership Action Plan in 2024. [124] The deal was met with heavy criticism and protests by both politicians and the Ukrainian public. [165] Zelenskyy and U.S. president Joe Biden disagreed on how imminent the threat was. 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. [152] President Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska also took part in the opening of the Ukrainian House in Washington, D.C.[151] On the same trip, he met with Apple CEO Tim Cook[153] and with Ukrainians in senior positions at Silicon Valley tech companies[154] and spoke at Stanford University. [230], Zelenskyy denounced suggestions by former US diplomat Henry Kissinger that Ukraine should cede control of Crimea and Donbas to Russia in exchange for peace. [58] He said he wished to restore trust in politicians, "to bring professional, decent people to power" and to "change the mood and timbre of the political establishment". [246][247] He met with President Joe Biden and addressed Congress delivering his full speech in English. "[272], During the presidential campaign, Zelenskyy promised bills to fight corruption, including removal of immunity from the president of the country, members of the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) and judges, a law about impeachment, reform of election laws, and providing efficient trial by jury. The. [289], On 27 March 2022, Slovakia awarded Zelenskyy one of the country's top awards, the State Award of Alexander Dubek. [261], Zelenskyy supported the late 2013 and early 2014 Euromaidan movement. By Jennifer Hassan. Its Jewish president lost family in the Holocaust", "Zelensky offers insight into family history, igniting debate over Ukrainian Holocaust memory", "3 years ago Zelenskyy was a TV comedian. Vice President Harris's trip to Germany in the midst of the Ukraine crisis this past . [48], In October 2021, the Pandora Papers revealed that Zelenskyy, his chief aide, and the head of the Security Service of Ukraine Ivan Bakanov operated a network of offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, and Belize. THE VICE PRESIDENT: Mr. President, I may have to call you once every couple weeks just to hear your voice. [104] For all other inquiries, please call 202.457.1700. The vice president's experience offers a reminder of the urgent need for a bipartisan foreign policy. [49] Zelenskyy's election campaign had centred on pledges to clean up the government of Ukraine. [19] Zelenskyy also played the leading role in the 2012 film 8 First Dates and in sequels which were produced in 2015 and 2016.