Intense. Impatient. Sleep-deprived. Step into the relentless world of Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine’s wartime president.
The 46-year-old said his ambition when he was elected in 2019 had been to help Ukraine become a modern democracy, before that mission was shattered by Russia’s invasion in 2022.
The war-hardened Zelenskiy who’s exhorted Western leaders to action at the NATO summit in Washington in recent days is a world away from the political novice who became president, let alone the TV comedian who was a showbiz heavyweight for years before.
Reuters spoke to eight current and former Ukrainian and foreign officials who have worked with Zelenskiy, as well as several friends and colleagues from his past.
They paint a portrait of a leader who has become tougher and more decisive, less tolerant of mistakes and even prone to paranoia, as he copes with round-the-clock stress and fatigue.
Source: REUTERS