Best quotes from Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy is a Ukrainian politician, former actor and comedian, who is the sixth and incumbent President of Ukraine. He pursued comedy and then created the production company Kvartal 95, which produced films, cartoons, and TV shows including the TV series Servant of the People, in which Zelenskyy played the role of the Ukrainian president. The series aired from 2015 to 2019 and was immensely popular.

A political party bearing the same name as the television show was created in March 2018 by employees of Kvartal 95. Zelenskyy announced his candidacy in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election on the evening of 31 December 2018, alongside the New Year’s Eve address of then-president Petro Poroshenko on the TV channel 1+1. A political outsider, he had already become one of the frontrunners in opinion polls for the election.

He won the election with 73.23 per cent of the vote in the second round, defeating Poroshenko. He has positioned himself as an anti-establishment and anti-corruption figure. As president, Zelenskyy has been a proponent of e-government and unity between the Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking parts of the country’s population. His communication style heavily uses social media, particularly Instagram.

His party won a landslide victory in a snap legislative election held shortly after his inauguration as president. During his administration, Zelenskyy oversaw the lifting of legal immunity for members of the Verkhovna Rada, the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic recession, and some progress in tackling corruption in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy promised to end Ukraine’s protracted conflict with Russia as part of his presidential campaign, and has attempted to engage in dialogue with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy’s administration faced an escalation of tensions with Russia in 2021, culminating in the launch of an ongoing full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. Zelenskyy’s strategy during the Russian military buildup was to calm the Ukrainian populace and assure the international community that Ukraine was not seeking to retaliate.

He initially distanced himself from warnings of an imminent war, while also calling for security guarantees and military support from NATO to “withstand” the threat. After the start of the invasion, Zelenskyy declared martial law across Ukraine and a general mobilisation of the armed forces. His leadership during the crisis has won him widespread international admiration, and he has been described as a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.

Some of the best quotes from Volodymyr Zelenskyy are listed below.

1. “According to our information, the enemy marked me as target No. 1, my family as target No. 2. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state. We have information that enemy sabotage groups have entered Kyiv.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
2. “All the money I have, I made with my talent.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
3. “But if we come under attack, if we face an attempt to take away our country, our freedom, our lives and the lives of our children, we will defend ourselves. When you attack us, you will see our faces. Not our backs, but our faces.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
4. “Chernobyl has been a negative part of Ukraine’s brand. The time has come to change this.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
5. “Chernobyl is a unique place on the planet, where nature revives after a world-wide man-made disaster, where there is a real ‘ghost town’.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
6. “Dozens of witness records prove that this is not a single false volley, but the deliberate destruction of the people. The Russian knew what they were shooting.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
7. “Every morning my day begins with an SMS from the General Staff. Over the past 24 hours there were 7 occasions of shelling and two casualties. Figures may vary, but only one figure makes the morning good. It is zero. The shelling is zero. The loss is zero.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
8. “Faith is something we never discuss at the dinner table in my family, but I do believe in God.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
9. “Honestly, Russia should want it, to give our territory, our land back to us.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
10. “Honoring the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, in which more than two million Ukrainian Jews died, Ukraine calls on Israel to also recognize the Holodomor as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
11. “How can I be a Nazi? Explain it to my grandfather, who went through the entire war in the infantry of the Soviet army, and died a colonel in an independent Ukraine. You are being told we hate Russian culture? How can someone hate culture? Any culture? Neighbors always enrich one another culturally, but that does not make them one, does not dissolve us in you. We are different. But it is not a reason to be enemies. We want to determine our history by ourselves. In peace, calm and honesty.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
12. “I am a person who works to deadlines.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
13. “I am not a politician. I am just a simple person who has come to break down this system.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
14. “I do not try to play a role. I feel good being myself and saying what I think.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
15. “I don’t want to interfere in U.S. elections.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
16. “I know that a lot of misinformation and rumors are being spread now. In particular, it is claimed that I have left Kyiv. I remain in the capital, I am staying with my people. My family is not a traitor, but a citizen of Ukraine. According to our information, the enemy marked me as the number one target. My family is the number two goal. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the Head of State.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
17. “I really do not want my pictures in your offices, for the President is not an icon, an idol or a portrait. Hang your kids’ photos instead, and look at them each time you are making a decision.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
18. “I respect Israel as hugely special, especially given all the sensitivities around it. The Jews managed to build a country, to elevate it, without anything except people and brains.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
19. “I think everybody in Ukraine is so tired about Burisma. We have our own country. We have our independence, we have our problems and questions.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
20. “I want to do something to change the mistrust towards politicians.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
21. “I will not agree to go to war in the Donbass. I know there are a lot of hotheads, especially those who hold rallies and say, ‘Let’s go fight and win it all back!’ But at what price? What is the cost? It’s another story of lives and land. And I won’t do it.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
22. “I would never want Ukraine to be a piece on the map, on the chessboard of big global players, so that someone could toss us around, use us as cover, as part of some bargain.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
23. “I’m sure that in the future, every part of the world will recognize that Holodomor is a huge tragedy for Ukraine, and was actually the destruction of Ukrainian people.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
24. “I’m the type of person who responds to facts.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
25. “If I meet Putin, I’ll say to him: ‘So you’ve finally given us back our territory, how much more are you ready to give as compensation money for taking away our land and helping those who took part in the escalation in Crimea and Donbass?’” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
26. “If there is no Ukrainian strong army, there will be no Ukraine, and that will be the case when everyone will understand… it’s not the war in Ukraine, it’s the war in Europe. We are defending our country, our land. We are not attacking anyone, because that is immoral.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
27. “If they [the US] see Ukraine in NATO, they have to say it directly, and do it. Not words.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
28. “In my previous profession, when I was a producer, scriptwriter and actor, I wanted to get an Oscar, I wanted to be popular in the U.S.A.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
29. “In today’s world, where we live, there is no longer someone else’s war. None of you can feel safe when there is a war in Ukraine, when there is a war in Europe.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
30. “It’s a victory when the weapons fall silent and people speak up.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
31. “Let’s build a country of opportunities, where everybody is equal before the law and where the rules of the game are honest and transparent, and the same for everyone.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
32. “Let’s find those people whose names do not cause controversy in our present and in our future. Let’s name the monuments and streets for those people whose names do not provoke conflict.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
33. “My election only proves that the citizens are tired of the experienced politicians who over the past 28 years created a country of opportunities – opportunities to steal, bribe and loot.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
34. “Neighbors always enrich each other culturally. However, that doesn’t make them a single whole. It doesn’t dissolve us into you [Russia].” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
35. “No one in the world will forgive you [Vladimir Putin] for killing peaceful Ukrainian people.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
36. “Now, when it comes to a threat beyond Ukraine’s borders, there’s something very powerful standing in his way. That’s Article 5 of NATO: An attack on one is an attack on all.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
37. “Only one thing remains unchanged contradictions between nations and states are still resolved not by words, but by missiles. Not by word. But by war.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
38. “Our main goal is to finish this slaughter. The enemy losses are very grave – today there were hundreds of killed soldiers who crossed our border and came on our land. Unfortunately, we also suffer losses.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
39. “Our military, our national guard, our national police, our territory defense, special service, nationals of Ukraine, please carry on. We will win. Glory to Ukraine. We are successfully holding back the enemy’s attacks. We know we are defending our land and the future of our children. Kyiv and the key areas are controlled by our army. The occupiers wanted to set up their puppet in our capital. They didn’t succeed. On our streets, there was a proper fight going on.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
40. “Our weapons are our truth, and our truth lies in the fact that this is our land, this is our country, our children, and we are going to defend all of this… Glory to Ukraine!” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
41. “People believe in words only for a stretch of time. Then they start to look for action.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
42. “People don’t really believe in words. Or rather, people believe in words only for a stretch of time. Then they start to look for action.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
43. “Please, please stop saying that Ukraine is a corrupt country, because from now, it’s not true. We want to change this image.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
44. “Politics is not an exact science. That’s why in school I loved mathematics. Everything in mathematics was clear to me.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
45. “Russia attacked on peaceful cities. Peaceful residential areas. No military facilities.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
46. “Several weeks ago, we made the point that Russian agents had already infiltrated Ukraine; they were operating inside the country.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
47. “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
48. “The people of Ukraine want peace. The government in Ukraine wants peace and is doing everything it can to build it.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
49. “The president can’t change the country on his own. But what can he do? He can give an example.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
50. “The Ukrainian nation, as no other nation, understands and is fully aware of the tragedy and its scale of all the lost lives of the Ukrainian Jews during the Second World War.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
51. “The war is a big disaster, and this disaster has a high price. With every meaning of this word. People lose money, reputation, quality of life, they lose freedom. But the main thing is that people lose their loved ones, they lose themselves.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
52. “There was no pressure or blackmail from the U.S. I had no idea the military aid was held up.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
53. “There will definitely be a tribunal for this crime [attack on peaceful Ukrainian Cities]. Internationally. This is a violation of all conventions.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
54. “This is larger in scale and scope in the massing of forces than anything we’ve seen in recent memory, and I think you’d have to go back quite a while into the Cold War days to see something of this magnitude.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
55. “This night will be very difficult, and the enemy will use all available forces to break the resistance of Ukrainians, the fate of Ukraine is being decided right now.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
56. “To all the countries of the former Soviet Union: look at us, everything is possible.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
57. “Today, at the initiative of the Russian, the first round of talks between Ukraine and Russia took place. These talks took place while our territory and cities were being bombed, being shelled. We could see the synchronization of the shelling with the negotiation process. I believe that in this unsophisticated way Russia is trying to put pressure. Don’t waste time. We do not accept such tactics. Fair negotiations can happen when one side does not hit the other side with rocket artillery at the moment of negotiations.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
58. “Ukraine and Israel have long-standing historical ties. Our nations have together experienced all the tragedies in recent history – the Holodomor and the Holocaust, the Second World War, and the totalitarian Soviet regime.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
59. “We are all here, defending our independence, our country. And it will stay that way. Glory to the men and women defending us. Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the heroes.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
60. “We are different [with Russians], but that is not a reason to be enemies. We want to determine, build our future ourselves, peacefully, calmly and honestly.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
61. “We are very proud of the fact that we have such a low level of anti-Semitism – such a low level of anti-Semitism in independent Ukraine…” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
62. “We are very proud of the fact that we have such a low level of anti-Semitism – such a low level of anti-Semitism in independent Ukraine, which started its life in 1991.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
63. “We as a country have something to learn from Israel, especially in the areas of security and defense, and we will of course be doing that.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
64. “We have waited 30 years for this. Today [28 February 2022], I signed the request for membership in the European Union.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
65. “We have won our rights to be with everyone in Europe. On equal terms. The request has already been delivered to Brussels and officially registered.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
66. “We must become Icelanders in soccer, Israelis in defending our land, Japanese in technology.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
67. “We should show Chernobyl to the world: scientists, environmental specialists, historians and tourists.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
68. “We Ukrainians are a peaceful nation. But if we remain silent today, we will be gone tomorrow!” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
69. “We will build the country of opportunities, one where all are equal before the law and where all the rules are honest and transparent, the same for everyone. And for that, we need people in power who will serve the people.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
70. “When Ukrainians and Israelis speak to each other, each side respects the other.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
71. “Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don’t see anyone. Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
72. “Why is Poroshenko going for a second term? So that he doesn’t get a first.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
73. “You [Vladimir Putin] are told that this flame will liberate the people of Ukraine, but the Ukrainian people are free.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
74. “You [Vladimir Putin] are told we are Nazis. But can a people support Nazis that gave more than eight million lives for the victory over Nazism? How can I be a Nazi? Tell my grandpa, who went through the whole war in the infantry of the Soviet Army and died as a colonel in independent Ukraine.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
75. “You can’t think of the global and close your eyes to the details.” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy