The president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenskywas chosen by the magazine Time as the person of the year and assures that his success “as a leader in times of war has been based on the fact that courage is contagious.”
In its article dedicated to Zelenski, the magazine, which each year chooses the person it considers to have had the most influence in the world, he argues that there was not much in Zelensky’s biography to predict his willingness to stand up and fight the Russian invasion.
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In this sense, he points out that he had reached the presidency in 2019 from the world of the arts, where he had been a comedian and film producer, and this experience, far from playing against him, turned out to be decisive in becoming a leader.
Zelensky was adaptable, trained not to lose his temper under pressure. He knew how to read a crowd and react to their moods and expectations. Now his audience was the world,” the post reads.
Zelensky, “The Spirit of Ukraine”
The magazine also notes that after months of downplaying the risk of a full-scale Russian invasion, even as US intelligence agencies warned it was imminent, when it began on February 24, Zelensky gave his generals the freedom to run the front lines while he focused “on the dimension of the war where he could be most effective: persuading the world that Ukraine must win at all costs.”
The article of the publication is written by the journalist Simon Shuster who draws the personality of Zelensky framed in the trip of the Ukrainian president to the city of Kherson last month, just after being liberated by the Ukrainian troops.
Likewise, the profile dedicated to the Ukrainian leader is accompanied by a note entitled “the spirit of Ukraine”in which he gives part of the response from governments such as the German one, which he says broke “seven decades of self-imposed pacifism” to send heavy weapons to help contain the Russian invasion.
But also from companies, which cut ties with Russiaof civil organizations such as that of chef José Andrés who took his kitchens to the war zone or of people who got involved individually to help the Ukrainians.
The answer, of course, lies in the example of the Ukrainians themselves. If the options articulated by its president gave moral clarity (…), it was the people who gave it meaning, acting”, concludes Time, which in past years has chosen businessman Elon Musk as its person of the year; US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, and young environmental activist Greta Thunberg.
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EFE International news agency based in Madrid and present in more than 110 countries.