War in Ukraine: President Volodimir Zelensky is “Person of the Year 2022”, according to Time

Few will be able to disagree. The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is the person of the year 2022, for the magazine Time. And there are arguments.

Not only has the charismatic president received the honors of this 2022. The “momentum” of his countryalso the resistance of the Ukrainians before the Russian invasion.

“Whether the battle for Ukraine fills hope or fear, Volodymyr Zelensky has galvanized the world in a way not seen in decades,” wrote Edward Felsenthal, editor of Time, for whom this decision year “It’s never been so clear.”

“For demonstrating that courage can be as contagious as fear, for inspiring peoples and nations to unite in defense of freedom, for reminding the world of the fragility of democracy – and of peace -, Volodimir Zelensky and the spirit of Ukraine I’m TIME’s Person of the Year 2022,” the New York magazine added.

“In the weeks following the start of the Russian bombing on February 24, his decision not to flee Kievbut staying and gathering support was fundamental,” explained the publisher.

He added: “Since his first 40-second Instagram post on February 25, demonstrating that his cabinet and civil society they were intact and in their placeto daily remote speeches before institutions such as parliaments, the World Bank and the Grammy Awards, the president of Ukraine was everywhere“.

A two hour interview

The note signed by Simon Shuster, of Kiev, which accompanies the title of Person of the Year, begins with an anecdote about when the city of Kherson fell, the only capital of the province (of the same name) that the Russians had managed to conquer and Moscow withdrew its troops across the river, abandoning the place.

The anecdote it goes like this:

“The call from the president’s office came in Saturday night: Get ready to leave the next day, an aide said, and get a toothbrush ready. There were no details on our destination or how we’d get there, but it wasn’t difficult.” to guess.” .

Just two days earlier, on Day 260 of the invasion of Ukraine, the Russians had withdrawn from the city of Kherson. It was the only regional capital they had managed to seize since the all-out war began in February, and the Kremlin had promised it would forever be part of Russia. Now Kherson was free, and Volodimir Zelensky wanted to get there as soon as possible.”

Zelensky wanted to reach Kherson despite calls for caution. Because after all, the Russians are withdrawing from the city it could be a death trap for the Ukrainian troops now raising their flag in the recaptured bastion.​

The city was literally destroyed. No water, heating or electricity. And the suburbs were a minefield. There were indications that the Russians had left behind infiltrators to try to assassinate Zelensky or take him hostage. In short, Russia’s original plan: to eliminate the Ukrainian president. The “usurper”.

why go “It’s the people”Zelensky told Shuster in a two-hour interview.

“Nine months of work, without electricity, without anything. Yes, they had two days of euphoria about returning to Ukraine. But those two days are over. The long road to recovery will soon be in sight and many of its citizens would like a return to normalcy, much faster than the state can achieve. “Now they will go into depression and it will be very difficult,” Zelenski explained.

“The way I see it, it’s my duty to go there and show them that Ukraine is back, that it supports them.” And went.

In 2021, the awardee was billionaire businessman Elon Musk, head of SpaceX and Tesla, and who bought Twitter this year, becoming embroiled in a controversy.

Clarín Newsroom with information from AFP and Time Magazine

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