To be frank, we certainly knew that Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zelenskyy isn’t living any sort of life or luxury as he continues to lead his country through the heinous, devastating war that was launched against them when Russian forces invaded and attacked Ukraine just a little over a month ago now, under the orders of Russian dictatorial President Vladimir Putin. But a new report out today from the Daily Mail that sheds new light on the fine details of a day in the life of Voldomyr Zelenskyy in the midst of the war honestly left us quite heartbroken for the brave and fearless leader.
According to new reports, the Ukrainian president has been sleeping a measly “two hours a day” for the past month-plus and has been forced to spend most of his time in a bunker as he faces the constant risk of assassination by Russian forces, but he allegedly refuses to stay locked up and hidden completely, instead choosing to leave the bunker every “three or four days” in an effort to witness the reality of what his country is facing right now firsthand.
As if being locked away in a dark bunker with little to no sleep wasn’t bad enough, reports also indicate that Zelenskyy remains largely separated from his wife and children, who remain in hiding somewhere in Ukraine, in an effort to keep them safe, as he fears they too are a top target for assassins.
Recently, Zelenskyy gave his first interview to Russian media, despite the fact that it’s being banned from broadcast by state media regulator Roskomnadzor — though, five journalists across various channels have vowed to publish the unedited transcript of the interview.
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During the interview, in the middle of answering a question, the Ukrainian president said, “I’m giving you this explanation instead of a yes or a no because that’s the direction my thoughts are going, forgive me, my day has been a bit of a mess, I didn’t sleep well last night.”
Political scientist and member of the Boris Nemtsov Center for Russian Studies (Charles University, Prague,) Alexander Morozov dubbed the interview a “spectacular event,” before going on to write in a Facebook post:
It’s obvious Zelensky for 30 days has been sleeping for two hours a night, but he decided to come out and speak in the midst of severe insomnia – of which he spoke about in the middle of the interview.
God give him the strength. It’s hard to handle such a 30-day stress. And it’s even harder to remain open, not to go to the bare rhetoric of hate.
And yet continues to speak in the language of ‘human norm’, openness, pain, sincerity.”
During a recent interview with the Economist, Zelenskyy explained the importance of ensuring that he leaves the “fortress” as often as he possibly can — a stark contrast, of course, to Vladimir Putin, who has been tucked away in a bunker “for more like two decades.”
“If I don’t go out even for three or four days, and only stay in my office, I won’t know what’s going on in the world,” Zelenskyy explained.
In a recent interview with CNN, Voldomyr spoke of his family, and while it’s unknown whether or not he is able to physically see them, it does appear that he is able to communicate with them.
“My children know, for sure, what is happening. And I don’t know whether it’s good or bad. I have not explained anything to my children,” he told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in March.
“They have said to me that war is raging in Ukraine, and at our home we have the same freedom of speech as we have in our country. And they know what we are fighting for. They understand all of that. The first two days, we did not talk about it at all, and my family – and they did not ask questions. They were thinking about it themselves, of what is happening. They are proud of Ukraine, very proud. And they entertain a sincere hope in our victory.”
You can read the full, heartbreaking report from the Daily Mail here.
Featured image via screen capture
