Published: Less than 20 min ago
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not been allowed to see his children since the war broke out.
Olena Zelenska has also been kept hidden – until recently.
Now she is stepping into the spotlight as the first lady.
– These have been the worst months of my life, she says.
She graces the cover of Voguethe world’s oldest fashion magazine, who met her in Kyiv.
“There is no script for first ladies in wartime – so Olena Zelenska writes her own,” the article begins.
She was already doubtful when her husband, the comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyy, would venture into politics.
But he became president. Then Putin invaded.
– He just said: “It has started”. We immediately understood that life had changed forever, Zelenska said in an earlier interview.
Now the war has been going on for five months.
– These have been the worst months of my life and the life of every Ukrainian. Frankly speaking, I don’t think anyone is aware of how we hardened emotionally, Zelenska told Vogue.
Haven’t met the children: “He is suffering”
With the war, Volodymyr Zelenskyy had all the world’s spotlights directed at him. Zelenska and their son and daughter were isolated. They were moved around between various secure, secret locations. She was not allowed to call her parents and not see her husband.
Her duties as First Lady still continued remotely. With a full calendar.
For safety reasons, the children have still not been allowed to meet their father.
– In that way, he has it worse than me. He suffers. And then my children suffer too, because they cannot see each other, says Zelenska.
Has stepped forward as a leader
Mother’s Day, May 8, became a turning point for Zelenska when, together with the first lady of the United States, Jill Biden, she visited a home for internally displaced persons.
Zelenska showed that she was there, as a citizen and fighter in heart and soul for the Ukrainian people. A significant player in the war.
Before the war, she had committed herself to the children. For children with special needs, for healthy food at school, to draw attention to domestic violence. With the war, the focus changed to survival.
That there is food on the table, that the school is not bombed. Another initiative aims to help people traumatized by the war.
Zelenska has stepped forward as a face for the women and children of war. For Vogue, she talks about a memorial ceremony for children who died in the war. Along with grieving families, she hung bells in the trees, one for each dead child.
– The bells represented the voices of the innocent children, for them to ring forever and be heard forever. I cried the whole hour I was there, she says.
“I’m asking for weapons”
Russian bombs continue to rain over parts of Ukraine. In the East, Russia is pursuing scorched earth tactics. Cities turn to rubble and people continue to die.
Zelenska recently visited Washington and addressed Congress. She showed a picture of Liza Dimitrieva, 4, who was killed in the rocket attack on Vinnytsia. Her message to the politicians was clear.
– I’m asking you for something I never wanted to ask: I’m asking for weapons – weapons that should not be used to fight a war against someone else but to protect our home and our right to wake up alive in our home.
Zelenska says that in the darkness of war, she finds hope and inspiration in the Ukrainian people.
– We are looking forward to the victory. We have no doubt that we will prevail. That’s what drives us, she tells Vogue.