She is the First Lady of war-torn Ukraine. In fact, she doesn’t see herself as a celebrity. But since the Russian attack, Olena Selenska has also been in the public eye.
Kyiv – The Ukraine conflict is changing a lot. Also the lives of the relatives of those who are at the center of the war. This is probably particularly true of the First Lady of Ukraine: Olena Selenska, who has been married to Volodymyr Selenskyj since 2003, was included in the list of the 100 most influential Ukrainians by Focus magazine in 2019. According to her own statements, she does not see herself as a politician. She told Vogue magazine that she sees herself as a “mediator between the people and officials, so that the latter hear the first”.
On her Instagram profile, the 44-year-old introduces herself simply as “First Lady of Ukraine”. 2.1 million people follow Selenska on the platform in early March. Since the Russian troops invaded the escalated Ukraine conflict, she has been sharing articles about the war in her country and trying to give hope. Beautiful pictures of herself cooking or with her husband have not found their way onto her site since then. The situation is probably too serious for that.
| Surname | Olena Volodymyrivna Zelenska |
|---|---|
| dates of birth | February 6, 1978, Kryvyi Rih (Ukraine) |
| position | First Lady of Ukraine (since 2019) |
Olena Selenska: From architecture studies to screenwriter to First Lady of Ukraine
Today’s First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska was born on February 5, 1978 in Kryvyi Rih, a large city in southern Ukraine. There she also studied architecture at Kryvyi Rih National University before starting to write screenplays. She is said to have met her current husband, Volodymyr Selenskyj, at the university. He was then an aspiring comedian and law student. According to reports, the two went to school together – but it is said that they only met at university, writes the Fox News channel, among other things.
Selenska and Selenskyj are said to have been in a relationship for eight years before they married in 2003. A year later their daughter Aleksandra, now 17 years old, was born. The two also had a son, Kiril. Today he is 9 years old.
Involuntary First Lady: Olena Selenska grew into the role
Zelenska didn’t necessarily choose the position of First Lady herself, multiple media outlets report, citing Ukrainian Vogue. When her husband applied for the presidency in 2019, she is said to have known nothing of his plans. She is said to have only found out about Selenskyj’s candidacy via social media. When she asked her husband why he didn’t say anything, his reply was said to have been a simple “I forgot.”
“I wasn’t happy about it when I understood that that was the plan. I realized that this would change everything and what difficulties we would face,” explained Selenska. “My husband knows how to surprise. But seriously, we discussed it for a long time and I said that I will always support him.” Selenska also kept this promise.
Ukraine war: Goal number two for Putin – Selenska’s man is number one
According to the Kremlin’s official language, Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to “denazify” Ukraine. Apparently that means: The incumbent Ukrainian president and Zelenska’s husband, Volodymyr Zelenskyj, is to be deposed. On the first day of the Ukraine war on February 24, 2022, Zelenskyy declared in a video speech that the enemy “marked him as target number one according to our information” and that his family was target number two.
In order to ensure her own safety and that of her children, Selenska should not be in Kyiv. This is reported by several media unanimously. Nothing is known about her exact whereabouts, except that she did not leave Ukraine. It seems the First Lady doesn’t see fleeing the country as an option. (mda)
Rubric list image: © Screenshot: Instagram.com
