Who is Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine, and how does she talk about the war in her country

“Today I will not have panic or tears. I will be calm and confident. My children look at me. I will be with them. And next to my husband. And with you,” said Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukrainein a post he made on his Instagram account hours after the first Russian bombardments in his country.

Zelenska He is 44 years old and has almost 2 million followers on that social network. Is activist, architect, screenwriter and is even considered a influencer. In fact, in December 2019 she was included in the list of the 100 most influential Ukrainians in the world by Focus magazine, ranking number 30. And she was on the cover of the prestigious publication Vogue of his country.

He was born in the city of Kryvyi Rih, the eighth most populous in Ukraine, on February 6, 1978. He studied architecture at the Faculty of Civil Engineering from Kryvyi Rih National Universitybut she specialized in writing scripts for Kvartal 95, a public television company that has been operating in that country since 2003. She later became a writer.

He has two children, both the result of his relationship with the current president Volodymyr Zelensky: Oleksandra17 years old, and Kyrylo, 9. With her husband, they were schoolmates but did not know each other. They finally saw each other for the first time when Zelenska started college. They dated for eight years and finally got married on September 6, 2003.

As First Lady, pushed for food reform in Ukrainian schools with a new school menu prepared by chef Ievgen Klopotenko, from CultFood. He also started the accession of your country to the G7 international initiative on gender equality.

Since 2020, Zelenska was included by her husband in the council of the Arsenal of Art, led by Minister of Culture Volodymyr Borodiansky. Months later, she contracted Covid-19 and spent a few days in the hospital due to bilateral pneumonia.

“My dear people! Ukrainians! I’m looking at all of you today. Everything I see on TV, on the streets, on the Internet. I see your posts and videos. And you know what? They are incredible!”, expressed the woman in a post on Instagram when the first Russian attacks in Ukraine began. “I am proud to live with you in the same country! It is said that many people are a crowd. This is not about us. Because many Ukrainians are not crowds. This is an army! ”, She affirmed and assured that she would not have panic or tears. “Love you! I love Ukraine!” she closed her post.

He also shared the heartbreaking image of the baby who was born in the Kiev bomb shelter and She noted that “despite the war, there were doctors and caring people on the streets alongside her.” “It will be protected and defended,” he said.

“This was to take place in completely different conditions, under peaceful skies. It’s what kids should see”, he expressed and insisted: “In these two days, all of you became an army. In the subway, bomb shelters, with children and pets (because you don’t leave younger siblings either) – you do your job, you have time to take care of others, to help each other”, the First Lady of Ukraine was proud.

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