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Behind every successful man, there is a strong woman.

That saying is absolutely applicable to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is fiercely backed by his wife, the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Zelenska has been pushed out of the shadows and into the global eye, “rallying her 2,5 million Instagram followers over the horrors of war,” notes Sky News.

She was already well known by Ukrainian citizens but since posting about the devastating effects of the war, particularly on women and children, she has been thrust into the global spotlight.

Plus, her husband claims his family is “target No. 2” on Vladimir Putin’s hitlist, while he is “target No. 1”.

Let’s get the basics out of the way.

Zelenska was born in February 1978 in Kryvyi Rih, central Ukraine, which is the same city that President Zelenskyy is from.

They are only a few weeks apart in age and were actually at school together. They didn’t properly form a connection until they both went to university – him a law major and her studying to be an architect.

The couple dated for eight years, at which time Zelenska was getting into writing comedy sketches for Zelenskyy’s comedy production company, Kvartal 95, which made her a bit of a celeb in Ukraine.

They tied the knot in 2003, moved to Kyiv, and had two children – a 17-year-old daughter and a nine-year-old son:

 

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A post shared by Olena Zelenska (@olenazelenska_official)

When she found out that her husband was running for president, she told Ukrainian Vogue that she “realised how everything would change, and what difficulties we would have to face”.

As Ukraine continues to dominate the 2020 news cycle, here’s First Lady Olena Zelenska on three covers of the December issue of Ukrainian Vogue pic.twitter.com/tPMbSGs7eV

— Katerina Ang (@katerinareports) November 11, 2019

But I suppose she never thought that her country would be ravaged by war just three years later.

Despite being a relatively private person who prefers “staying backstage,” she has campaigned on a wide range of issues, including providing more nutritional school meals, fighting domestic violence, closing the gender pay gap, and promoting the Ukrainian language.

Tatler once described Zelenska, who speaks “flawless” English, as one of the country’s most influential women, according to Insider:

“I’m going to grab onto everything, it won’t work, so our team decided to focus on specific tasks: children’s health, equal opportunities for all Ukrainians and cultural diplomacy,” she said in the Ukrainian Vogue interview.

She is a leading advocate for Ukraine fashion, too, choosing to wear clothes made almost exclusively by Ukrainian designers on her diplomatic trips in other countries, an aspect which she refers to as “soft power”:

“I am pleased when they ask me in New York or Paris who is the designer of my outfit. And they do ask me,” she told Ukrainian Vogue in 2019. “And it wouldn’t be as exciting to name a major western brand, which they already know there, but how nice it is to promote Ukrainian designers to the world.”

“I truly believe in soft power and cultural diplomacy. It is a part of that power, which is important for Ukraine,” she told Diplomatic Courier in September 2021.

Since her husband’s landslide election win in May 2019, meeting with world leaders, including the British Royals and the Pope, has become a normal part of her life, and she always rises to the occasion:

“The way you dress and the way your present yourself, not only speaks for you, but for your country and what you are trying to accomplish,” she told the Diplomatic Courier.

The horrendous reality that has befallen her country in the past few weeks has seen her take a stand on social media, highlighting the tragic human toll of the war and offering hope and encouragement to her 2,5 million followers:

 

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A post shared by Olena Zelenska (@olenazelenska_official)

She even posted a powerful open letter to the global media, testifying on behalf of her country:

 

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A post shared by Olena Zelenska (@olenazelenska_official)

In another post translated by The Washington Post, she wrote that she would be calm and confident as “my children are looking at me. I will be next to them. And next to my husband. And with you.”

She remains with her family in Ukraine, saying that Putin has underestimated the “unparalleled unity” of Ukrainians who “do not give up”.

[sources:skynews&insider]