A year ago, Volodymyr Zelensky’s biggest claim to worldwide fame was that he had played a fictional president on TV before becoming the actual president. Then, after Russia’s unprovoked invasion on February 24, this unconvincing figure rapidly emerged as a Churchillian wartime leader.
He is now a global icon, gracing magazine covers and addressing parliaments, unofficially anointed as the moral figurehead of 21st-century liberal democracy.
Hans van LeeuwenEurope correspondentHans van Leeuwen covers British and European politics, economics and business from London. He has worked as a reporter, editor and policy adviser in Sydney, Canberra, Hanoi and London. Connect with Hans on Twitter. Email Hans at hans.vanleeuwen@afr.com
