Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been named Person of the Year by TIME magazine.



CNN

TIME magazine called Volodymyr Zelensky the Ukrainian leader whose attempt to fight back Russian invasion of his country received wide recognition as the person of the year along with the “spirit of Ukraine”.

“Whether the battle for Ukraine fills you with hope or fear, Volodymyr Zelensky has inspired the world in a way we haven’t seen in decades,” TIME Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal explained on Wednesday.

“Within a few weeks after the Russian bombs started falling on February 2nd. On December 24, his decision not to flee from Kyiv, but to stay and enlist support, became fateful. From his first 40-second Instagram post on Feb. 2. 25 — showing that his Cabinet and civil society were unaffected and in place — to daily speeches delivered remotely in buildings such as Parliament, the World Bank and the Grammy Awards, the President of Ukraine was everywhere,” Felsenthal added.

Zelenskiy’s unlikely career took him from comedian to wartime president in just a few years. He became President of Ukraine in April 2019 at the age of 41, having spent his previous years as a performer, starring in romantic comedies and co-founding a successful television company.

Zelensky was named Person of the Year by Time magazine along with

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, he rose to new prominence as an international audience watched his impassioned video messages from the streets of the shell-destroyed capital of Kyiv, where he remained despite intelligence indicating he was a key target for Russian occupiers and offered US evacuation.

“Fight here; I need ammunition, not transport,” he told the US, according to the Ukrainian embassy in the UK.

Felsenthal said that “the spirit of Ukraine was embodied by countless people inside and outside the country.”

“For proving that courage can be as contagious as fear, for encouraging people and nations to unite in defense of freedom, for reminding the world of the fragility of democracy — and peace — Volodymyr Zelensky and the spirit of Ukraine — persona TIME 2022. years,” Felsenthal said.

Zelensky, following Elon Musk, became TIME’s Person of the Year in 2021. Russian President Vladimir Putin was named TIME’s Person of the Year in 2007.

The title is not necessarily awarded as an honor, but indicates that the winner has had an impact on world events.