Ukraine war: From Paddington 2 to president – what voters think of Zelenskyy’s handling of the invasion
Ukraine’s leader speaks to his people every day – about everything from the situation in Bakhmut to how to make Molotov cocktails. A year on from Russia’s invasion, Sky News speaks to experts and Ukrainians about how the unlikely president is “more Churchillian than Churchill”.
Michael Drummond
Foreign news reporter @MikeRDrummond
Friday 24 February 2023 03:55, UK
Volodymyr Zelenskyy's speeches to his people – like this one on New Year's Eve – have been a key part of his impact
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Play Video – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Zelenskyy’s New Year’s Eve address
Why you can trust Sky News
“I need ammunition, not a ride.”
As Russian forces closed in around Kyiv, their tanks rolling down the highways and fighter jets screaming through the skies, these words from Volodymyr Zelenskyy echoed around the world.
A comedian-turned-actor found himself president of Ukraine in his nation’s darkest hour. His decision to stay in the capital was pivotal and helped rally the Ukrainian people.
But before the full-scale invasion of his country in February 2022, many were wary of his inexperience and sceptical of his ability to deliver.
So how did Mr Zelenskyy go from a “bad joke” to a wartime leader “more Churchillian than Churchill”?
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was the Ukrainian dubbed voice of Paddington. Pic: Volodymyr Zelenskyy/Instagram
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy was the Ukrainian dubbed voice of Paddington. Pic: Volodymyr Zelenskyy/Instagram
The comedian who became a president
In 2017, Mr Zelenskyy voiced a marmalade-loving bear in the Ukrainian dubbed version of Paddington 2. Less than two years later, he won the presidency in a landslide.
It’s a story so surprising that it sounds like fiction. And maybe that’s because it was, at least at first.
Before he went into politics, Mr Zelenskyy was perhaps best known for playing a man who is unexpectedly elected president after going viral online in the popular TV show Servant Of The People.
In the real world, he campaigned on two main issues: anti-corruption and ending the war, Orysia Lutsevych, the head of Ukraine Forum at Chatham House, tells Sky News.
“He was young and they were tired of old faces in politics,” she says. “It was quite a shock to many observers. Zelenskyy was viewed as somebody completely out of his depth.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy4:24
Play Video – Zelenskyy: ‘I never lost my sense of humour’
Zelenskyy says the war has not taken his sense of humour
The day war came to Kyiv
The day Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine – 24 February 2022 – already feels like a turning point in history. Different decisions made in the heat of the moment could have led to drastically different outcomes.
As Russian troops fired on the capital, the US offered to evacuate Mr Zelenskyy and his family. The sight of the president leaving could have crushed Ukrainian morale.
“Instead he took the opposite way out with that immortal phrase,” the historian Andrew Roberts tells Sky News, referring to the reported “I need ammunition, not a ride” remark.
“It’s an elemental decision, it’s something that forced all Ukrainians to take a side.
“You have got Russian special forces in Kyiv trying to kill him but he goes out [and] films himself in front of his palace proving to all Ukraine that he is there.
“It becomes quite clear that this is not going to be a quick three-day Russian blitzkrieg operation, instead he’s going to be fighting back.”
volodymyr zelenskyy0:45
Play Video – Zelenskyy: ‘We will not forgive’
Zelenskyy: ‘We will not forgive’
Zelenskyy’s guide to making Molotov cocktails
After the start of the 2022 invasion, Mr Zelenskyy and his government used social media to communicate directly with the Ukrainian people.
Every day he posted a video on Telegram and other social platforms addressing the public, usually filmed on a phone. A year on, he’s still sharing his daily updates with the people.
“He’s talking about his family who didn’t quit Kyiv, he’s talking about how to fight back, he’s giving practical suggestions about how to make Molotov cocktails,” Lord Roberts told Sky News, looking back on Mr Zelenskyy’s messages last year.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and aides outside Kyiv presidents office
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Zelenskyy and aides outside the Kyiv president’s office
In a video posted on 25 February 2022 – the second day of the full-scale invasion – Zelenskyy posted a video of himself and his aides outside the president’s office in Kyiv.
Addressing rumours that he had fled the country or was in hiding, he said: “We are all here defending our independence, our country, and this is how it will continue.
“Glory to our defenders. Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the heroes.”
Read more:
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Zelenskyy won’t compromise despite fears of Russian gains
Sean Penn gives his Academy Award statuette to Volodymyr Zelenskyy1:00
Play Video – Sean Penn gives Oscar statue to Zelenskyy
Sean Penn was among the first to visit Zelenskyy after the conflict broke out
New Year’s Eve speech brings Ukrainians to tears
Hanna Shelest, from Odesa, says people like to know what is happening with the war first-hand.
“They would like to see the tired face of the president, the president who is personally involved, the president who is one of us.
“He’s talking directly to the person like a personal call – it’s not staged,” she tells Sky News.
Orysia Lutsevych thinks the videos were watched much more at the start of the war, but they still help people make sense of what is going on “when real horror happens”.
On New Year’s Eve, Mr Zelenskyy spoke about how far Ukraine had come since the war started in a special 16-minute address that reportedly brought people to tears.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his wife Olena place candles and ears of wheat to a monument to Holodomor victims during a commemoration ceremony of the famine of 1932-33, in which millions died of hunger, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine November 26, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.
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Zelenskyy and his wife Olena place candles at a monument to Holodomor victims
Do ordinary Ukrainians watch Zelenskyy’s videos?
Vasyl, 69, a former head of the Kyiv tax administration, says he watches Mr Zelenskyy’s addresses every day.
“I trust the president, and I believe that it is from him that I can get reliable information.
“Of course, the news is not always good. I am outraged by many things that happen in the middle branches of government, related to corruption and bad decisions. But these issues will be resolved after the victory.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he and Joe Biden agreed the war in his country must end this year0:43
Play Video – ‘We must ensure victory this year’
Zelenskyy speaks after Joe Biden’s surprise visit to Kyiv
Software engineer Roman, 34, says he watches Mr Zelenskyy’s videos occasionally but prefers to read weekly reports of what the president says.
“I believe that such addresses are important because it supports the morale of the population…
“Historical practice speaks of the importance of such communication. The same [as] Churchill constantly addressed the people during the war.”
Svitlana, 38, tells Sky News: “I don’t watch Zelenskyy’s videos [since] last May. I’m not interested in this. I read the news on social networks.
“But those who believe in him need these appeals. These videos can motivate those who support the president.”
Winston Churchill is shown at Broadcasting House in London, Oct 1, 1939. In his radio speech, he said “Hitler began the war when he wanted it, and it will end only when we are convinced that he has had enough.” (AP Photo)
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Parallels have been drawn between Zelenskyy and Winston Churchill, seen here addressing British people in 1939
‘More Churchillian than Churchill’
As a charismatic wartime leader making regular addresses to his people, it was perhaps inevitable that Mr Zelenskyy would be compared to Winston Churchill.
For historian Andrew Roberts, those parallels are clear.
“He is doing the same thing as Churchill saying ‘I will stay in the capital and we will fight this out to the death’ but he is in even more physical danger than Winston Churchill was.”
“He wasn’t in a position like Zelenskyy where he could have been assassinated by standing outside,” he says.
“It’s Churchillian – in fact, it’s more Churchillian than Churchill,” he adds.
Orysia Lutsevych said there are similarities between Mr Zelenskyy and Britain’s wartime leader – but differences too.
She said the two similarly wanted quick results and good publicity but added: “I don’t think he has the intellect of Churchill, the understanding of the world.
“But sometimes I wonder – maybe it’s an advantage. There’s the saying he did it because he didn’t know it was impossible.”
President Zelenskyy and Lindsay Hoyle23:16
Play Video – Zelenskyy speaks in Westminster Hall
In an historic address in the UK Zelenskyy urged Britain and Western allies to provide fighter jets
Zelenskyy as commander in chief
Hanna Shelest, who also works as a senior fellow at the Centre for European Policy Analysis, said Mr Zelenskyy going from working as a comedian to running for president felt like a “bad joke” but that the perception has changed.
Appointments and changes he made to the military in the months before the war have proved effective, she tells Sky News, and he has not interfered in their work.
Military analyst Sean Bell spoke of the symbolic power of Mr Zelenskyy staying put, and how his visits to the frontline in the ensuing months have inspired his people on the ground.
“You can pretty much guarantee that Putin wouldn’t want to meet any of his conscripts,” he adds.
It was “quite striking” how Mr Zelenskyy and his team decided to say in Kyiv and pick up the fight during the early days of the 2022 invasion, Orysia Lutsevych added.
“People took it as a signal that, okay if he’s staying, he’s putting up the fight. I will also put up the fight.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Joe Biden
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Zelenskyy spoke alongside President Joe Biden on his visit to the US
Zelenskyy speaks to the world
As well as communicating with the Ukrainian people daily, Mr Zelenskyy has been outspoken on the international stage as he lobbies world leaders to send more weapons.
His efforts have seen donations grow – from anti-tank missiles in the early days of the 2022 invasion, to the now-infamous HIMARS missile systems and NATO-standard battle tanks.
“If they survive this war it’ll take decades to rebuild the country,” military analyst, Sean Bell, says. “What will emerge from the ashes of this war will be the foundations of what makes Ukrainians proud.
“They’ll remember this chapter in their history, and Zelenskyy is a key part of that.”
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