Defiant Zelensky vows 'I'm here' after Ukraine repulses Kyiv attack

KYIV • After Ukrainian forces said they had repulsed a Russian attack on their capital yesterday, President Volodymyr Zelensky shot a selfie-style video to vow to stay and fight on.

Standing in front of the presidential residence in Kyiv, he said: "A lot of fake information has appeared on the Internet saying that I allegedly called on our army to lay down its arms and that evacuation is under way.

'I am here. We will not lay down any weapons. We will defend our state, because our weapons are our truth."

Wearing olive green military-style clothing and looking tired but determined, he declared: "Our truth is that this is our land, our country, our children and we will protect all of this. This is what I wanted to tell you. Glory to Ukraine!"

To some, Mr Zelensky, 44, may be among the least likely wartime leaders the world has known. A former television comic of Jewish background, he was elected Ukraine's president just under three years ago on a promise to bring peace.

Although a political novice, Mr Zelensky's anti-corruption platform won him widespread support in the 2019 presidential election, with his significant online following translated into a solid electoral base, information group Britannica said on its website.

He won a landslide victory in the second round of the election over incumbent Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire.

Born in the industrial town of Kryvyy Rih in southern Ukraine, Mr Zelensky grew up as a native Russian speaker. He graduated in 2000 with a law degree from Kryvyy Rih Economic Institute, the local campus of Kyiv National Economic University, Britannica said.

But he had his heart on theatre, and later co-founded a successful entertainment company. He appeared in several feature films and romantic comedies.

In 2015, Mr Zelensky starred in a role that would set him on the path to the presidency, ABC News reported on Friday. He portrayed a school teacher in a show called Servant Of The People. The teacher woke up one day to find that a rant he made against corrupt politicians had gone viral and catapulted him to the presidency.

The show was so popular that he formed a party called Servant of the People that led him to the actual presidency. He is married to architect and screenwriter Olena Zelenska, 44, and has two children.

Addressing Ukrainians on television on Thursday, at the end of the first day of the invasion, Mr Zelensky said he had information Russia "has identified me as target No. 1 and my family as No. 2".

He has twice posted videos amid the Russian attempts to punch their way into Kyiv to dispel disinformation that he has fled or ordered a surrender.

Yesterday's clip had four million views within two hours of posting.

On Thursday in the first video, he summoned the spirit of Winston Churchill, echoing the British wartime leader's 1946 Iron Curtain speech, seen by some historians as marking the start of the Cold War with the former Soviet Union.

"What do we hear today?" Mr Zelensky asked after Thursday's onslaught, again appearing in a khaki T-shirt. "It's not just rocket explosions, fighting and the roar of aircraft. This is the sound of a new iron curtain lowering and closing Russia off from the civilised world."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BLOOMBERG