Biden's whirlwind final days as vice president had aides - CNN [92], On 8 July, Zelenskyy ordered the cancellation of the annual Kyiv Independence Day Parade on Maidan Nezalezhnosti, citing costs. [290] British newspaper Financial Times selected Zelenskyy as Person of the Year in 2022. We will punish everyone who committed atrocities in this war We will find every scum who was shelling our cities, our people, who was shooting the missiles, who was giving orders. Kamala Harris finds herself center stage of the Ukraine crisis President Charles Michel, EU-Ukraine summit, 3 February 2023. [19] Zelenskyy continued his movie career with the film Office Romance. Prior to the elections, Zelenskyy presented a team that included former finance minister Oleksandr Danylyuk and others. Critics said it risked increasing media censorship in Ukraine[97] because its clause of criminal responsibility for the distribution of disinformation could be abused. 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. [34] Zelenskyy helped fund a volunteer battalion fighting on Donbas. The vice president's experience offers a reminder of the urgent need for a bipartisan foreign policy. 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. [87], Zelenskyy's first major proposal to change the electoral system from a plurality voting system to proportional representation with closed party lists was strongly rejected by the Ukrainian parliament, due to the belief that closed lists would lead to more corruption in government. Now he's standing up to Putin's army", ": , , , , ", " ()", "How funny is the comedian who may be Ukraine's next president? From 21 January until 18 April 2019 Zelenskyy did not give interviews. [96], In 2020, Zelenskyy's party proposed reforms to Ukraine's media laws with the intent to increase competition and loosen the dominance of Ukrainian oligarchs on television and radio broadcasters. United States government official. [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. [289], On 27 March 2022, Slovakia awarded Zelenskyy one of the country's top awards, the State Award of Alexander Dubek. "[185] He has been described as a national hero or a "global hero" by many commentators, including publications such as The Hill, Deutsche Welle, Der Spiegel and USA Today. Thank you for the principled defense and political support, for the clear understanding that the aggressor cannot be given a single chance. More From Britannica Joe Biden & Ukraine: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know Andriy Biletsky, the leader of the far-right National Corps and first commander of Azov, accused Zelenskyy of being disrespectful to army veterans and of acting on behalf of the Kremlin by leaving Ukrainians vulnerable to Russian aggression. Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., represented Delaware for 36 years in the U.S. Senate before becoming the 47th and current Vice President of the United States. Ambassador William B. Taylor | United States Institute of Peace [138] On 14 January 2020, Andriy Yermak dismissed the rumors as speculations and baseless conspiracy theories,[139] while Medvedchuk stated that the plane was used by his older daughter's family to fly from Oman to Moscow. [282][283] Kiyashko worked as a scriptwriter at Kvartal 95. ", "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. [19] The family lives in Kyiv. It was not even close. Vice President Biden Travels to Kyiv, Ukraine People. The speech was widely described as "emotional" and "astonishing". [263] In August 2014, Zelenskyy performed for Ukrainian troops in Mariupol and later his studio donated 1 million to the Ukrainian army. May 1, 2022 at 10:04 a.m. EDT. We voted for one Poroshenko, but received another. [27][28][29][30] In March 2022, Zelenskyy said that his great-grandparents had been killed after German troops burned their home to the ground during a massacre. [19] Zelenskyy also played the leading role in the 2012 film 8 First Dates and in sequels which were produced in 2015 and 2016. The claim: Joe Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion from Ukraine to assist his son, Hunter Biden While former Vice President Joe Biden oversaw foreign policy in Ukraine, his son Hunter. Republican Inquiry Finds No Evidence of Wrongdoing by Biden [55], Zelenskyy's presidential campaign against Poroshenko was almost entirely virtual. [280], On 2 December 2022, Zelenskyy entered a bill to the Verkhovna Rada that would officially ban all activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) UOC in Ukraine. [265], In an interview in December 2018, Zelenskyy stated that as president he would try to end the ongoing war in Donbas by negotiating with Russia. Trump Twists Facts on Biden and Ukraine - FactCheck.org Their son, Kyrylo, was born in January 2013. [74], Zelenskyy clearly won the first round of elections on 31 March 2019. [115] Arsen Avakov, a controversial figure due to longstanding corruption allegations,[116] was kept on as interior minister, with Honcharuk arguing that the relatively inexperienced government needed experienced administrators and that Avakov had been "'drawn red lines' that cannot be crossed. Burisma hired Hunter Biden to serve as a board member in 2014 when his vice president father was leading the Obama administration's Ukraine policy and paid him up to $1 million per year, despite . [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. The President won't be offended if BBC standards assume different transliteration", Zelensky Unchained: What Ukraine's New Political Order Means For Its Future, "Ukraine Lifts Prosecutorial Immunity For Members Of Parliament", "Ukraine's anti-corruption effort struggles, but soldiers on", Faltering fightback: Zelensky's piecemeal campaign against Ukraine's oligarchs, "FT Person of the Year: Volodymyr Zelenskyy. [244] When asked what kind of relationship Ukrainians and Ukraine will have with Russia after the war, Zelenskyy replied that "They took too many people, too many lives. Volodymyr Zelensky | Biography, Facts, Presidency, & Russian Invasion [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. He promised to bring the salary for military personnel "to the level of NATO standards". We don't have any firearms. [196] On 8 March, Zelenskyy expressed willingness to discuss Putin's demands. ", "How Ukraine's Presidential Race Is Shaping Up", "Comedian faces scrutiny over oligarch ties in Ukraine presidential race", "Volodymyr Zelensky: April 1 an awesome day for a clown to win", "Ukraine media demands access to runoff frontrunner Zelensky", "The World Just Witnessed the First Entirely Virtual Presidential Campaign", "Ukraine election: Why comic Zelenskiy is real threat to Poroshenko", "Crowdsourcer In Chief: Ukrainian Funnyman Takes Unorthodox Path To Top Of Presidential Pack", "Zelensky: Party "Servant of the people" goes into politics", " " " ", "Ukraine elections: actor and comedian poised to win crushing victory", "Ukraine election: Poroshenko attacks Zelensky before runoff", "Rivals in Ukraine's presidential runoff hold bitter debate at sports stadium", "How the Ukraine Scandal Looks in Ukraine", " vs : ", " : , ", " : "", " , ", " ", "Central Election Commission of Ukraine Ukrainian Presidential Election 2019 (first round)", "Ukraine election: Comedian Zelensky wins presidency by landslide", "Election of President of Ukraine 2019 Repeat voting", " ", " ", "Ukraine vaults into unknown after comic elected president", "Joint letter of President Tusk and President Juncker to Volodymyr Zelensky, President-elect of Ukraine Consilium", "Ukraine's New President Vows To Dissolve Parliament As PM, Other Key Officials Resign", "Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised international partners that the world would be proud of Ukraine", "New Ukraine President Zelensky calls snap election", "Zelensky may dissolve parliament despite People's Front withdrawal from coalition expert", "Georgia's Saakashvili has Ukrainian citizenship restored", "UAWire Ukrainian parliament rejects Zelensky's proposal to change election system", " , ", "Quick win for Zelenskiy as Ukraine parliament strips lawmakers' immunity", "Zelensky cancels Independence Day parade on August 24 citing costs", "Zelensky cancels Independence Day military parade, gives money to soldiers | KyivPost Ukraine's Global Voice", "No Independence Day parade to be held this year, Zelensky says", "Bonuses instead of parade: Ukraine's leader takes surprising decision", "Voice of America: Journalists see censorship in Ukraine's proposed media laws", "Journalists See Specter of Censorship in Ukraine's Proposed Media Law", " " ", " . Parliament also confirmed Andrii Zahorodniuk as defence minister, Vadym Prystaiko as foreign minister and Ivan Bakanov as head of the SBU. [119] Honchurak's hasty departure caused disquiet both in Ukraine and abroad, with many economists and political observers warning it would bring instability. (@ZelenskyyUa) / Twitter Just like the authorities in Ukraine, no matter how much they try to convince you otherwise. Volodymyr Zelenskyy - Wikipedia [102] Fixing the referendum law had been one of Zelenskyy's campaign promises. nov., a first nearly complete feather star (Crinoidea) from the Upper Jurassic of Africa", "Fossil Named After Ukraine's President Zelenskyy", "NFL Honors Highlights Defenders of Ukraine", Who is Volodymyr Zelenskyy? [38], Zelenskyy was a member of the board and the general producer of the TV channel Inter from 2010 to 2012. [19][36][37] That same year, he created and headed the Kvartal 95 team, which later transformed into the comedy outfit Kvartal 95. [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. ", "Leaders of Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia to visit Kyiv on Tuesday", "A Zelensky Deepfake Was Quickly Defeated. Zelenskyy met personally with some of these groups and tried to convince them to surrender their unregistered weapons and accept the peace accord. [42][43][c] Once again, Zelenskyy spoke out against the intention of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture to ban Russian artists from Ukraine.[39]. [248], In a mid-June interview with BIHUS info[uk] a representative of the president of Ukraine at the Cabinet of Ministers, Andriy Herus stated that Zelenskyy had never promised to lower communal tariffs, but that a campaign video in which Zelenskyy stated that the price of natural gas in Ukraine could fall by 2030 per cent or maybe more was a not a direct promise but actually "half-hinting" and "joking". The first appears when there are video cameras, the other Petro sends Medvedchuk privietiki (greetings) to Moscow". [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. Since 2015, Ukraine has banned Russian artists and other Russian works of culture from entering Ukraine.