The wife of the Ukrainian president recounts how she lived through the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine when Volodymyr Zelensky was informed by the security services that he was the number one target of the invading forces and that his family would soon follow him.
In an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian, Olena Zelenska says she felt a “terrible feeling that anything was possible” as Russian missiles landed in various parts of the country and Russian troops advanced on the capital, kyiv. The Ukrainian first lady admits that she can use the family to put pressure on her husband. “I wouldn’t want him to have to choose between her family and her responsibilities as president,” says Olena Zelenska.
On February 24, when Russia advanced into Ukrainian territory, Zelenska and her two children were separated from the Ukrainian president for their safety. The place of refuge is, to this day, unknown. “The less I say, the safer I am,” Zelesnka tells the British newspaper, sharing that the family changed locations regularly, but always remained in Ukraine for the last four months of the conflict.
Zelenska says that she already feels that she can spend some time in kyiv, the country’s capital, but it is not certain that the presidential family is off the Russian blacklist. “When you look at the crimes they committed, you think maybe they really are capable of anything.”
The first lady shares that she was taken by surprise by the beginning of the Russian invasion. “Of course, no one shared military secrets with me at home.” Despite the increased tension and scale that led to the conflict, which would culminate in the February 24 invasion, Zelesnka says that she “honestly” did not believe in the possibility of war. “Honestly? No. I couldn’t believe it was going to happen. I didn’t even have my passport ready.”
Compared to the rest of the Ukrainian people, the first lady – who says she still finds the title strange – acknowledges that she has had an “easy” road in recent months, but that the war has also had an impact on her family. “All Ukrainians are under enormous psychological pressure these days,” says Zelenska. “Half of our population lives away from their families. Of course, most of us have never lived in these conditions before.”
If now the focus is on fighting the Russian forces, Zelenska argues that, after the end of the conflict, it will be necessary to have a psychological support program to “cure” the country. “Nobody wants a country that has won, that has fought for its territory, but that is populated by people who cannot live, function or raise their children in a normal way. There are great dangers ahead of us.”
Source: Observadora
