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thezeinterviews · 10 months

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El Mundo: Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine: "Ukrainians and Russians, we are at a fairly high level of hatred. For a long time, we will be enemies."

ALBERTO ROJAS | Kyiv 22/06/2023 20:39

We go through three security rings with scanner, ID and pat-down. There will be no cell phones, cameras or smart watches inside the same room where Olena Zelenska (Kryvyi Rih, 1978) is standing. Her blonde hair lights up the room like a golden flame. Although she was born in the same city as her husband, they did not meet until many years later. They have two children and attended the same school (Gymnasium Number 95). She went on to earn a degree in architecture, a music degree in piano and has been named one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023 by Time magazine. The current First Lady of Ukraine, dressed in elegant navy blue, cracks the knuckles of both hands as she sits down. Clack, clack, clack. Like a good scriptwriter, she clutches the papers in front of her during the first few questions until she comes to the conclusion that her most personal answers are not yet written. Then she looks at the questioner with her green eyes, turns her notes over, and the real interview begins.

Question. What is it like to be the wife of the most endangered man in the world?

Answer. I try to push that thought out of my mind. I focus on the fact that this person is responsible for our country and its people. And that is the most important thing.

Q. Do you perceive that you yourself can be a target of Russia?

A. [Sighs, looking at the ceiling and smiles] I don't want to think about it, but it is hard to forget if all journalists ask me about it.

Q. You, as a screenwriter, could you imagine a story like yours with Zelenski? [Note: This is not a typo. His name was spelt that way in the interview.] I mean, you marry an actor who becomes President of a country that is then invaded by a nuclear power?

A. Well, it's even more difficult because he wasn't even an actor when we got married. We couldn't even imagine that he would become President, let alone of a country at war. What I did know is that he knows how to look for and find ways out where no one else can. He is a very imaginative person, that's why I knew he would come out ahead in any situation.

Q. At what point did you know there would be an invasion?

A. The first news I had of the war was on the morning of February 24, like any other Ukrainian. Until the previous days, we all hoped that Vladimir Putin would be guided by logical thinking, but he was not.

Q. What restrictions do you have on seeing your own husband?

A. There is no set protocol for visits. I never see him at home because he cannot come. In the President's office, I am allowed to see him. Just today, I had lunch with him. This office is the only possible space.

Q. How do you explain to your son what is going on?

A. You always ask me that question, and I understand why. But my children are too grown up to understand what is going on. Sometimes they themselves surprise me by explaining to me what is going on better than I could have explained it to them. It is impossible to keep them in a bubble nowadays. The most important thing is not what I tell them but what they ask me. And what they always ask me is when this war is going to end. It's very painful to have to tell your son that all the things he wants to do will have to wait until after all this is over.

Q. Just as your husband has become a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance, you have also stood out as an image for many women in your country. What would you say to the thousands of Ukrainian women who are fighting the Russians at the front?

A. I would like to express my admiration for the Ukrainian military women. They have voluntarily chosen the hardest way. I am very grateful to all of them. Today I can say that it is also thanks to them that we are here talking 16 months later. When I look at the photo of Ukrainian women in uniform, I cannot help admiring their beauty. I am very proud of them. I wish them to keep their health and strength until we achieve a peaceful future.

Q. Do you feel safe in Kyiv now? Russia attacks the capital almost every night.

A. I am a citizen of Ukraine, and I am afraid like any other citizen of my country. When the anti-aircraft alert sounds, I also go into the shelter. When I am with my son at home, even at night, we try to get to safety.

Q. How has this war changed your own role as First Lady of Ukraine?

A. I didn't want to stop all the work I started to do before the Russian invasion, and that's what I'm still doing. But it is true that in some areas, I have expanded my diplomatic work, even if it is soft power diplomacy. I try to explain what Ukraine is, what is happening here, but in a personal, unofficial way, focusing on the stories of ordinary people. When I have to tell what is going on, I use real facts, things that have happened to people with names and surnames. The data and statistics are already in the press, but I talk about specific people I know. I have realized that this serves to create empathy.

Q. What personal impact does all this have on you?

A. During the first days of the war, every attack hit me very hard. Even at official events, I was in tears. It's not that I have become hardened now, but I have to make every effort to tell the story to the end. In the end, I am human, I have emotions, and I cry. Today, in this very interview, I can start crying. That happens to me many times.

Q. 10 days ago, Russian missiles attacked your hometown and that of your husband, Kryvyi Rih, leaving many dead. How did you feel when you heard about it?

A. When Russian missiles hit any city in Ukraine, there are terrible situations, but when it happens in your hometown, you immediately try to recognize the exact place of shelling. During the first hours, I did not have clear images for safety, but then I already realized what the place was. Of course, I know that house and that street. When I was a child, I passed by that place many times, and it's hard for me to understand that it no longer exists.

Q. You focused your work before the war on the creation of programs for equality and against domestic violence. Is it possible to advance in something like that in the middle of the war?

A. The war deepened all the problems we already had. If we think about the equal opportunity program, this invasion is increasing the problems of mental illness, as well as hearing, sight … . Today, nothing connects us with the Russian society. They have other values. Since we cannot change them, we have to go our own way. For example, we worked to bring forward a law on violence against women, but the Russians overturned their own law. In other words, we are going in opposite social directions. But if we talk about violence, there are also different types of violence that can affect men, such as economic violence. That's why this program is very broad.

Q. Is the European Union the model towards which Ukraine is traveling?

A. Ukrainian society is trying to move towards tolerance towards all its citizens with the model close to many countries of the European Union. Although it is true that many people are not quite ready to accept some processes, such as that two homosexual persons can marry. The most important thing is that the number of those who refuse the existence of same-sex marriages or unions has decreased. There is a cultural transformation, but these are slow transitions. The most important thing is that there are no legal restrictions in Ukraine with people who see sexuality differently. In Russia, on the other hand, they use the word Gayropa to refer to the European Union.

Q. How do you imagine the Ukraine of the future?

A. I am not a fantasist. I understand very well that we have a lot of work ahead of us. I have high hopes for this post-traumatic growth. Thanks to the current difficulties we will emerge much tougher and, therefore, I believe that we will be more successful. For example, it would never have been impossible to undertake painful reforms before. Now we can.

Q. Aren't you going to write a book about this whole experience?

A. I am not going to lie. I have had many proposals to write a book, but I want to find an idea that is original so that I can present everything that has happened in this story. I haven't found that approach yet, though.

Q. Will our generation be able to see Ukrainians and Russians having good relations again one day?

A. It depends on each person. Now we are all at a rather high level of hatred. How long will it last? Nobody knows. After our victory, there will come a time of tears as we remember those who died in the war. Our attitude toward Russia will depend on what we get from the other side, but we don't know how long it will take. There is no scale that can measure that, but it will be very difficult to see the Russians the same as other neighbours. For a long time, we will perceive them as our enemies.

Q. In a Ukrainian TV report, your husband showed his closet to a journalist. It was all green military clothes except for a civilian suit at the end of the hanger. He said that he was saving that suit for the victory day. Do you have a suit ready?

A. Has he already chosen that suit for victory day? Well, I think I will choose it for him in the end. I will prepare the most special suit for that day, but the truth is that I haven't thought about that event yet. Although to tell you the truth, I don't really care about the dress, because the main thing is that the victory in this war will bring the most important moment in the history of that country.

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fmhiphop · 1 year

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