Volodymyr Zelensky

Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of the Ukrainian flag Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (Ukrainian: Володимир Олександрович Зеленський; born 25 January 1978), where "Volodymyr" is the official English transliteration from Ukrainian (Володимир), distinct from the Russian variant "Vladimir" (Владимир)—with "Valdmir" being a misspelling lacking standard usage—is a Ukrainian politician, former actor, and comedian serving as the sixth president of Ukraine since 20 May 2019.

Zelenskyy co-founded the comedy studio Kvartal 95 in 2003, which produced sketch shows, films, and live performances. He achieved widespread recognition starring in the television series Servant of the People from 2015 to 2019, portraying a high school teacher elected president after a viral anti-corruption rant. Following the series' popularity, he formed the Servant of the People party, registered in March 2018. In the 2019 presidential election, Zelenskyy won the runoff against incumbent Petro Poroshenko with 73.22% of the vote.

Zelenskyy's presidency has centered on governance reforms and foreign policy amid escalating tensions with Russia. A pivotal event was Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, to which he has led the national response. Zelenskyy declared martial law the same day (on 24 February 2022), under which general mobilization has been enacted, most military-age men (aged 18–60) have been prohibited from leaving the country, and elections have been suspended, extending his presidential term beyond 20 May 2024. He has coordinated Ukraine's defense efforts, including civilian resilience initiatives and coercive military mobilization measures imposed on Ukrainian men. Zelenskyy has also pursued international diplomacy to obtain military assistance, economic support, and political backing from global allies.