President Zelensky is becoming a respected war hero and a cultural icon — but says ‘I’m not iconic. Ukraine is iconic.’
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky was already winning the war of public opinion against Vladimir Putin, with many world leaders condemning the Russian president for his “unacceptable” invasion of Ukraine. And then came the “Paddington Bear” video.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Zelensky has emerged as a “hero” in the headlines of several news outlets, as his country has put up a more tenacious fight against Russia than expected. And in a case of life imitating art, the role inspired him to run against incumbent Petro Poroshenko for president of Ukraine in 2019. Zelensky won by a landslide with more than 73% of the vote.
Read more: Russian forces surround Kyiv and bombard cities with missiles, but Ukraine is winning the information war