First Lady Olena Zelenska, new voice of Ukraine abroad
Olena Zelenska during her speech to members of the US Congress in Washington on July 20, 2022. AP - Jabin Botsford
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
A summit in kyiv of husbands and wives of heads of state in support of Ukraine will take place online this Saturday at the initiative of Olena Zelenska, the wife of the Ukrainian president.
This initially rather discreet woman has established herself as the voice and face of millions of Ukrainians.
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His photo is this week on the cover of the American magazine
Time
.
A black and white portrait.
His gaze escapes the lens, his expressionless face.
Olena Zelenska hasn't smiled, or at least hasn't smiled in press photos since the start of the invasion of her country.
Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska tells @shustry about her wartime experiences and work addressing the "overwhelming" mental toll of the war https://t.co/RtpX1cUSRI pic.twitter.com/CNDUIWwFEi
— TIME (@TIME) July 7, 2022
In interviews with foreign media, in videoconferences, the first Ukrainian lady, 44, tells her personal story, the shock of the first days of war, then the mobilization of an entire people.
On her social networks, we see her with schoolchildren, in classes, in hospitals.
Wherever she goes, she talks about battles that are dear to her: child protection and the fight against psychological suffering.
Visit to Washington
If her husband remains in Ukraine – a way of embodying the head of state in the service of the war effort – Olena Zelenska now allows herself trips abroad.
His voice and his face have become those of a few million of his compatriots.
Last week
she was visiting Washington.
Everyone then noticed the wink: her in yellow heels, Jill Biden the wife of the American president in blue heels, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
But beyond the symbol, in front of Congress, she asked for more weapons and aroused an ovation from elected Americans
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Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky
Russia
Diplomacy