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81-419: YES Summits have taken place annually since 2004. The summit was attended by Volodymyr Zelenskyy , Bill and Hillary Clinton , Condoleezza Rice , Boris Johnson , Tony Blair , Alexander Kwasniewski , Carl Bildt , Dominique Strauss-Kahn , Shimon Peres , Richard Branson , Anders Åslund , Timothy Snyder , Fareed Zakaria , Francis Fukuyama , Jimmy Wales and many others. YES annual meetings were held at

162-497: A Jewish head of state and head of government. In his inaugural address, Zelenskyy dissolved the then Ukrainian parliament and called for early parliamentary elections (which had originally been due to be held in October of that year). One of the parliamentary coalition members, the People's Front , opposed the move and withdrew from the ruling coalition. On 28 May, Zelenskyy restored

243-469: A July phone call between the two presidents to investigate alleged wrongdoing by Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden , who took a board seat on Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma Holdings . This report was the catalyst for the Trump–Ukraine scandal and the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump . Zelenskyy has denied that he was pressured by Trump and declared that "he does not want to interfere in

324-569: A briefing to the press in the Office of the president of Ukraine and saying that he would explain everything about the visit when the time came. Zelenskyy's first official trip abroad as president was to Brussels in June 2019, where he met with EU and NATO officials. In August 2019, Zelenskyy promised to lift the moratorium on exhuming Polish mass graves in Ukraine after the previous Ukrainian government banned

405-581: A degree in law from the Kryvyi Rih Institute of Economics , but never practised law and pursued a career in comedy and entertainment. He 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 a fictional Ukrainian president. The series aired from 2015 to 2019 and was immensely popular. A political party with

486-621: A foreign election." On a trip to the United States in September 2021, Zelenskyy engaged in talks and commitments with U.S. president Joe Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin , Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm , and Secretary of State Antony Blinken . President Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska also took part in the opening of the Ukrainian House in Washington, D.C. On

567-496: A formal ceasefire with the separatists — the more than twentieth such attempt since the war began in 2014. Although the ceasefire was frequently violated over the next few years and overall violence remained high, ceasefire violations in 2020 did decrease by over 50 percent compared to the previous year. On 8 January 2020, the Presidential Office announced that Volodymyr Zelenskyy was cutting short his trip to Oman owing to

648-535: A group of deputies. In June 2019 it was announced that the president's third major initiative, which seeks to remove immunity from lawmakers, diplomats and judges, would be submitted after the July 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election . This initiative was completed on 3 September, when the new parliament passed a bill stripping lawmakers of legal immunity, delivering Zelenskyy a legislative victory by fulfilling one of his key campaign promises. On 8 July, Zelenskyy ordered

729-581: A landslide victory in the snap legislative election held shortly after his inauguration as president. During the first two years of his administration, Zelenskyy oversaw the lifting of legal immunity for members of parliament (the Verkhovna Rada ), the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic recession , and some limited progress in tackling corruption in Ukraine . A poll in May 2021 by

810-577: A law degree from the Kryvyi Rih Institute of Economics , then a department of Kyiv National Economic University and now part of Kryvyi Rih National University , but never worked in the legal field. At age 17, he joined his local team competing in the KVN comedy competition. He was soon invited to join the united Ukrainian team "Zaporizhzhia-Kryvyi Rih-Transit," which performed in the KVN's Major League and eventually won in 1997. That same year, he created and headed

891-526: A personal holiday with government business. His office said Zelenskyy paid for the entire trip himself. Nevertheless, he was criticized for a lack of transparency and critics pointed out he had once criticized his predecessor Poroshenko for taking an undisclosed vacation in the Maldives . In January 2021, parliament passed a bill updating and reforming Ukraine's referendum laws, which Ukraine's Constitutional Court had declared unconstitutional in 2018. Fixing

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972-565: A plurality of the electorate (30%) in the first round of elections on 31 March 2019. In the second round, on 21 April 2019, he received 73 percent of the vote to Poroshenko's 25 percent and was elected President of Ukraine. Polish president Andrzej Duda was one of the first European leaders to congratulate Zelenskyy. French president Emmanuel Macron received Zelenskyy at the Élysée Palace in Paris on 12 April 2019. On 22 April, U.S. president Donald Trump congratulated Zelenskyy on his victory over

1053-699: Is a Ukrainian military leader who has served as the chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine since August 2020. Budanov previously served as the deputy director of one of the departments of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine . He holds the rank of lieutenant general . Budanov was born in Kyiv on 4 January 1986. He graduated from the Odesa Institute of

1134-461: Is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who is serving as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019, most notably during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine , which has been ongoing since February 2022. Born to a Ukrainian Jewish family, Zelenskyy grew up as a native Russian speaker in Kryvyi Rih , a major city of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in central Ukraine. He obtained

1215-603: Is not considered civil service work, lustration did not apply to him. A number of the members of the Presidential Administration Zelenskyy appointed were former colleagues from his former production company, Kvartal 95, including Ivan Bakanov, who became deputy head of the Ukrainian Secret Service (SBU). Former deputy foreign minister Olena Zerkal declined an appointment as deputy head of the presidential administration, but did agree to serve as

1296-638: Is still ongoing. 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. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Zelenskyy remained in Kyiv, declining international offers to evacuate him from

1377-409: The 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election with closed lists based on the reasoning that the 60-day term to the snap election did not "leave any chances for the introduction of this system." In addition, on 6 June, lawmakers refused to include Zelenskyy's key initiative on reintroducing criminal liability for illegal enrichment in the parliament's agenda, and instead included a similar bill proposed by

1458-573: The 2022 Ukrainian attack on the Crimean Bridge . Budanov commented on the warrant, stating, "I am pleased. This is a good indicator of our work, and I promise to work even better." A spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence said in 2023 that there had been more than ten assassination attempts on Budanov. In November 2023 his wife, Marianna Budanova, was poisoned with unspecified heavy metals, probably from poisoned food, and several agency employees had mild symptoms of poisoning. In 2024, Budanov

1539-668: The Azov Regiment . In February 2023, the head of the Servant of the People parliamentary bloc, Davyd Arakhamia , stated that Oleksii Reznikov would be replaced by Budanov as defence minister. However, the replacement did not take place, and Budanov was not appointed. Rustem Umerov would eventually replace Reznikov. On 21 April 2023, the Lefortovo District court in Moscow, Russia issued an arrest warrant against Budanov in relation to

1620-488: The British Virgin Islands , Cyprus , and Belize . These companies included some that owned expensive London property. Around the time of his 2019 election , Zelenskyy handed his shares in a key offshore company over to Serhiy Shefir , but the two men appear to have arranged for Zelenskyy's family to continue receiving the money from these companies. Zelenskyy's election campaign had centred on pledges to clean up

1701-533: The Livadia Palace , where, in 1945 , the historic Yalta Conference dedicated to peace settlement after World War II took place. Since the 11th annual meeting, which took place on September 12, 2014, in connection with the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation , YES has been held in Kyiv . 2004 – Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist Viktor Pinchuk gathered about 30 European leaders at

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1782-560: The Presidential Administration of Ukraine . Before this, Bohdan had been the lawyer of Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi. Under the rules of Lustration in Ukraine , introduced in 2014 following Euromaidan , Bohdan is not entitled to hold any state office until 2024 (because of his government post during the Second Azarov Government ). Bohdan, however, contended that because heading the presidential administration

1863-660: The Rating Group gave Zelenskyy the highest trust rating out of all Ukrainian presidents, and ranked him as the second-best president after Leonid Kuchma . During his presidential campaign, Zelenskyy promised to end Ukraine's protracted conflict with Russia , and he has attempted to engage in dialogue with Russian president Vladimir Putin . His administration faced an escalation of tensions with Russia in 2021, culminating in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which

1944-538: The Russo-Ukrainian War Zelenskyy's Kvartal 95 had donated ₴ 1 million to the Ukrainian army , some Russian politicians and artists petitioned for a ban on his works in Russia. In 2015, Zelenskyy became the star of the television series Servant of the People , where he played the role of the president of Ukraine. In the series, Zelenskyy's character was a high-school history teacher in his 30s who won

2025-635: The Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 plane crash in nearby Iran the same day. Also on the same day, internet news site Obozrevatel.com released information that on 7 January 2020, Ukrainian politician of the Opposition Platform — For Life Medvedchuk – who has exclusive relations with the current president of Russia – may have arrived in Oman. Soon, rumors began that Zelenskyy may have had some additional meetings beside

2106-600: The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic . His father, Oleksandr Zelenskyy , is a professor and computer scientist and the head of the Department of Cybernetics and Computing Hardware at the Kryvyi Rih State University of Economics and Technology ; his mother, Rymma Zelenska, is a retired engineer. His grandfather, Semyon Zelenskyy  [ uk ] , served as an infantryman, reaching

2187-449: The economy and attract investment to Ukraine through "a restart of the judicial system " and restoring confidence in the state. He also proposed a tax amnesty and a 5-per-cent flat tax for big business which could be increased "in dialogue with them and if everyone agrees." According to Zelenskyy, if people would notice that his new government "works honestly from the first day," they would start paying their taxes. Zelenskyy achieved

2268-434: The government of Ukraine . In March 2018, members of Zelenskyy's production company Kvartal 95 registered a new political party called Servant of the People – the same name as the television program that Zelenskyy had starred in over the previous three years. Although Zelenskyy denied any immediate plans to enter politics and said he had registered the party name only to prevent it being appropriated by others, there

2349-461: The "strategy for de-occupation and reintegration of the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol ." By October 2021, Zelenskyy's approval rating had fallen further to 24.7%, but was still above or on par with most of his predecessors' at the same point in their presidencies. One of Zelenskyy's central campaign promises had been to end

2430-540: The Ground Forces in 2007. Following his 2007 graduation, Budanov started a military career in the special forces of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. In 2014, he took part in the war in Donbas , where he was wounded several times and reportedly participated in a number of classified special military operations. According to a 2024 report by The New York Times , Budanov

2511-474: The Kremlin by leaving Ukrainians vulnerable to Russian aggression. Ultimately, the peace deal failed to reduce the violence, much less end the war. In December 2019, Russia and Ukraine agreed to resume talks mediated by France and Germany under the so-called Normandy Format , which had been abandoned in 2016; it was Zelenskyy's first face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin. In July 2020, Zelenskyy announced

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2592-629: The Kvartal 95 team, which later transformed into the comedy outfit Kvartal 95. From 1998 to 2003, Kvartal 95 performed in the Major League and the highest open Ukrainian league of KVN, and the team members spent a lot of time in Moscow and constantly toured around post-Soviet countries . In 2003, Kvartal 95 started producing TV shows for the Ukrainian TV channel 1+1 , and in 2005, the team moved to fellow Ukrainian TV channel Inter . In 2008, he starred in

2673-591: The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense. On 11 March 2022 he became the chairman of the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. In September 2022, Budanov was involved in the largest prisoner exchange operation between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, when 215 Ukrainian defenders returned home, including more than 100 fighters and commanders of

2754-426: The People, won the first single-party majority in modern Ukrainian history in parliament, with 43 percent of the party-list vote. His party gained 254 of the 424 seats. Following the elections, Zelenskyy nominated Oleksiy Honcharuk as prime minister, who was quickly confirmed by parliament. Parliament also confirmed Andrii Zahorodniuk as defence minister, Vadym Prystaiko as foreign minister and Bakanov as head of

2835-674: The Polish side from carrying out any exhumations of Polish victims of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army -perpetrated Volhynian massacres , following the removal of a memorial to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in Hruszowice , southeastern Poland. In September 2019, it was reported that U.S. president Trump had allegedly blocked payment of a congressionally mandated $ 400-million military aid package to Ukraine to pressure Zelenskyy during

2916-451: The Rada, Zelenskyy recommitted to reforms domestic and financial, and remarked that he "cannot always become a psychologist for people, a crisis manager for someone, a collector who requires honestly earned money, and a nanny of the ministry in charge." By September 2020, Zelenskyy's approval ratings had fallen to less than 32 percent. On 24 March 2021, Zelenskyy signed Decree 117/2021 approving

2997-635: The Russo-Ukrainian War and resolve the Russia-sponsored separatist movement there. On 3 June, Zelenskyy appointed former president Leonid Kuchma as Ukraine's representative in the Tripartite Contact Group for a settlement in the conflict. On 11 July 2019, Zelenskyy held his first telephone conversation with Russian president Vladimir Putin , during which he urged Putin to enter into talks mediated by EU. The two leaders also discussed

3078-486: The SBU. Arsen Avakov , a controversial figure due to longstanding corruption allegations, was kept on as interior minister , with Honcharuk arguing that the relatively inexperienced government needed experienced administrators and that Avakov had been "'drawn red lines' that cannot be crossed." Zelenskyy dismissed Bohdan as head of his presidential administration on 11 February 2020 and appointed Andriy Yermak as his successor

3159-534: The Servant of the People series and Zelenskyy's other comedy shows, and argued along with fellow scholar Mattia Zulianello that Zelenskyy and his party were examples of "valence populism" focused on "non-positional topics, such as anti-corruption appeals, political transparency and moral integrity", rather than "economic and socio-cultural issues". Before the elections, Zelenskyy presented a team that included former finance minister Oleksandr Danylyuk and others. During

3240-482: The TV channel 1+1. His announcement up-staged the New Year's Eve address of incumbent president Petro Poroshenko on the same channel, which Zelenskyy said was unintentional and attributed to a technical glitch. Zelenskyy's presidential campaign against Poroshenko was almost entirely virtual. He did not release a detailed policy platform and his engagement with mainstream media was minimal; he instead reached out to

3321-502: The Ukrainian citizenship of Mikheil Saakashvili . Zelenskyy's first major proposal to change the electoral system from a plurality voting system to proportional representation with closed party lists was strongly rejected by the Ukrainian parliament , due to the belief that closed lists would lead to more corruption in government. Zelenskyy had earlier called for the introduction of open list election ballots, such as during his inauguration speech, but his proposal would have held

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3402-409: The Ukrainian representative of the international courts concerning Russia. Zelenskyy's requests to replace the foreign minister, defence minister , chief prosecutor and head of Ukraine's security service were rejected by parliament. Zelenskyy also dismissed and replaced 20 of the governors of Ukraine's 24 oblasts . In the 21 July 2019 parliamentary election, Zelenskyy's political party, Servant of

3483-465: The agreement, including the far-right Azov fighters in the Luhansk region of Donbas. Zelenskyy met personally with some of these groups and tried to convince them to surrender their unregistered weapons and accept the peace accord. Andriy Biletsky , the leader of the far-right National Corps and first commander of Azov, accused Zelenskyy of being disrespectful to army veterans and of acting on behalf of

3564-631: The campaign, concerns were raised over his links to the oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi , a billionaire businessman who had gained control of the 1+1 Media Group in 2010. The group operates eight Ukrainian TV channels and broadcast the Servant of the People TV series from 2015 until 2019, featuring Zelenskyy playing the President of Ukraine. Poroshenko and his supporters claimed that Zelenskyy's victory would benefit Russia. On 19 April 2019 at Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex presidential debates were held in

3645-405: The cancellation of the annual Kyiv Independence Day Parade on Maidan Nezalezhnosti , citing costs. Despite this, Zelenskyy highlighted that the day would "honor heroes" on Independence Day, however, the "format will be new." He also proposed to spend the money that would have been used to finance the parade on veterans. In 2020, Zelenskyy's party proposed reforms to Ukraine's media laws with

3726-523: The capital under attack; he declared martial law across Ukraine and a general mobilisation of the armed forces. Zelenskyy was named the Time Person of the Year for 2022. He has frequently visited frontline and newly liberated areas, and has regularly appeared unshaven and wearing an olive-green, military-style shirt instead of a suit. Zelenskyy's term was originally scheduled to end in May 2024, but

3807-458: The ceremony in Ukraine's parliament ( Verkhovna Rada ), including Salome Zourabichvili ( Georgia ), Kersti Kaljulaid ( Estonia ), Raimonds Vējonis ( Latvia ), Dalia Grybauskaitė ( Lithuania ), János Áder ( Hungary ), Maroš Šefčovič (EU), and Rick Perry (United States). Zelenskyy is the first Jewish president of Ukraine; with Volodymyr Groysman as prime minister, Ukraine became the first country other than Israel to simultaneously have

3888-523: The conference speakers were: Volodymyr and Olena Zelenska , Dmytro Kuleba , Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki , Latvian President Egils Levits , Radoslaw Sikorski , Alexander Kwasniewski , ex-CEO of Google Eric Schmidt , former Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO Wesley Clark . 2023 – Held on September 8–9 under the slogan "YES war room . The Future is Being Decided in Ukraine". More than 500 leading politicians, diplomats, businessmen, public activists and experts from 29 countries of

3969-522: The election with 73.23 percent of the vote in the second round, defeating Poroshenko in the biggest landslide in the history of Ukrainian presidential elections . Zelenskyy has positioned himself as an anti-establishment and anti-corruption figure. As president, he has been a proponent of e-government and of unity between the Ukrainian - and Russian-speaking parts of the country's population . His communication style makes extensive use of social media , particularly Instagram . His party won

4050-449: The electorate via social media channels and YouTube clips. In place of traditional campaign rallies, he conducted stand-up comedy routines across Ukraine with his production company Kvartal 95. On 16 April 2019, a few days before the election, 20 Ukrainian news outlets called on Zelenskyy to "stop avoiding journalists." Zelenskyy stated that he was not hiding from journalists but that he did not want to go to talk shows where "people of

4131-456: The exchange of prisoners held by both sides. In October 2019, Zelenskyy announced a preliminary deal struck with the separatists, under which the Ukrainian government would respect elections held in the region in exchange for Russia withdrawing its unmarked troops . The deal was met with heavy criticism and protests by both politicians and the Ukrainian public. Detractors noted that elections held in Donbas were unlikely to be free and fair, that

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4212-521: The feature film Love in the Big City , and its sequel, Love in the Big City 2 . Zelenskyy continued his movie career with the film Office Romance. Our Time in 2011 and with Rzhevsky Versus Napoleon in 2012. Love in the Big City 3 was released in January 2014. Zelenskyy also played the leading role in the 2012 film 8 First Dates and in sequels that were produced in 2015 and 2016. He recorded

4293-648: The first Yalta European Seminar to discuss the prospects for Ukraine 's accession to the EU. Following the seminar, an independent philanthropic foundation, the Yalta European Strategy (YES), was established in Ukraine. 2005–2013 – The Yalta Annual Meeting focused on the success factors that create strong, competitive, sustainable and equitable countries and societies. Topics included the global economy, energy security, threats and innovations changing our lives, and successful approaches to leadership. Particular attention

4374-525: The form of a show. In his introductory speech, Zelenskyy acknowledged that in 2014 he voted for Poroshenko, but "I was mistaken. We were mistaken. We voted for one Poroshenko, but received another. The first appears when there are video cameras, the other Petro sends Medvedchuk privietiki (greetings) to Moscow." Although Zelenskyy initially said he would serve only a single term, he walked back this promise in May 2021, saying he had not yet made up his mind. Zelenskyy stated that as president he would develop

4455-411: The intent to increase competition and loosen the dominance of Ukrainian oligarchs on television and radio broadcasters. Critics said it risked increasing media censorship in Ukraine because its clause of criminal responsibility for the distribution of disinformation could be abused. In January 2020, Zelenskyy took a trip to Oman that was not published on his official schedule, appearing to combine

4536-511: The intention of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture to ban Russian artists from Ukraine. Since 2015, Ukraine has banned some Russian artists and Russian media and art from entering Ukraine. In 2018, the romantic comedy Love in the Big City 2 starring Zelenskyy was banned in Ukraine due to the film not following the Law of Ukraine on cinematography. After the Ukrainian media reported that during

4617-411: The old power" were "just doing PR " and that he did not have time to satisfy all interview requests. Zelenskyy styled himself as an anti-establishment , anti-corruption figure, and said he wished to restore trust in politicians, "to bring professional, decent people to power" and to "change the mood and timbre of the political establishment." . Atlantic Council member Anders Aslund said Zelenskyy

4698-453: The ones that were announced. On 14 January 2020, Yermak dismissed the rumors as speculations and baseless conspiracy theories, while Medvedchuk stated that the plane was used by his older daughter's family to fly from Oman to Moscow. Later, Yermak contacted the on-line newspaper Ukrainian Truth and gave more details about the visit to Oman and the plane crash in Iran. On 17 January 2020,

4779-461: The ongoing Russian invasion and the imposition of martial law prevented the regularly scheduled presidential election from being conducted. He is expected to remain president for the duration of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Due to this extension of his term, Zelenskyy is the second-longest serving president in Ukrainian history, after only Kuchma. Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy was born to Jewish parents on 25 January 1978 in Kryvyi Rih , then in

4860-478: The presidential appointee Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prystaiko, was unable to give answers during the "times of questions to the government" in parliament when the people's deputies of Ukraine asked him about the visit's official agenda, the invitation from Oman, officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who were preparing the visit, as well as how the president actually crossed the border while visiting Oman. On 20 January 2020, Prystaiko followed up by giving

4941-516: The presidential election after a viral video showed him ranting against the government corruption in Ukraine . The comedy series Svaty ("In-laws"), in which Zelenskyy appeared, was banned in Ukraine in 2017, but unbanned in March 2019. Zelenskyy worked mostly in Russian-language productions. His first role in the Ukrainian language was the romantic comedy I, You, He, She , which appeared on

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5022-452: The public register would be both dangerous, as it concentrated power in the president; and ineffective, since oligarchs were merely a "symbol" of more deeply-rooted corruption. The bill was passed into law in September 2021. Critics of Zelenskyy's administration have claimed that, in taking power away from the Ukrainian oligarchs, he has sought to centralize authority and strengthen his position. Zelenskyy appointed Andriy Bohdan as head of

5103-574: The rank of colonel in the Red Army (in the 57th Guards Motor Rifle Division ) during World War II ; Semyon's father and three brothers were killed in the Holocaust . In March 2022, Zelenskyy said that his great-grandparents had been killed after German troops burned their home to the ground during a massacre . His grandmother survived World War II after leaving Kryvyi Rih in an evacuation of Jews to Almaty , Kazakhstan , and returned to Ukraine after

5184-532: The referendum law had been one of Zelenskyy's campaign promises. In June 2021, Zelenskyy submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a bill creating a public registry of Ukraine's oligarchs, banning them from participating in privatizations of state-owned companies and forbidding them from contributing financially to politicians. Opposition party leaders supported Zelenskyy's goal of reducing oligarchs' influence on politics in Ukraine but were critical of his approach, saying

5265-414: The same day. In March 2020, Honchurak resigned as prime minister following the leak of an audio recording in which he appeared to belittle Zelenskyy's economic management. Honchurak was replaced as prime minister Denys Shmyhal . Honchurak's hasty departure caused disquiet both in Ukraine and abroad, with many economists and political observers warning it would bring instability. In his 4 March address to

5346-442: The same name as the TV show was created in March 2018 by employees of Kvartal 95. Zelenskyy announced his candidacy in the 2019 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 months before he confirmed his candidacy. He won

5427-607: The same trip, he met with Apple CEO Tim Cook and with Ukrainians in senior positions at Silicon Valley tech companies, and spoke at Stanford University. While Zelenskyy was still in the U.S., just after delivering a speech at the United Nations, an assassination attempt was made in Ukraine on Shefir, his closest aide. Shefir was unhurt in the attack, although his driver was hospitalized with three bullet wounds. Kyrylo Budanov Kyrylo Oleksiiovych Budanov ( Ukrainian : Кирило Олексійович Буданов ; born 4 January 1986)

5508-628: The screens of Ukraine in December 2018. The first version of the script was written in Ukrainian but was translated into Russian for the Lithuanian actress Agnė Grudytė . Later, the movie was dubbed into Ukrainian. In October 2021, the Pandora Papers revealed that Zelenskyy, his chief aide, and the head of the Security Service of Ukraine Ivan Bakanov operated a network of offshore companies in

5589-532: The separatists had long driven most pro-Ukrainian residents out of the region to ensure a pro-Russia majority, and that it would be impossible to ensure Russia kept its end of the agreement. Zelenskyy defended his negotiations, saying the elections would not be held before a Russian withdrawal. The agreement failed to ease the conflict, as the separatists continued their attacks and Russia continued providing them with weapons and ammunition. Several Ukrainian nationalist militias and former militias also refused to accept

5670-521: The slogan "The Future Generation of Everything". 2019 – Held under the slogan "Happiness now. New approaches for a world in crisis". 2020 – Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the YES annual meeting did not take place. 2021 – Held on September 9–11 under the slogan "After COVID = Before the disaster? Steps to survival". 2022 – Held on September 9–10 under the slogan "Ukraine: Defending all Our Freedom". Among

5751-619: The telephone. European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker and European Council president Donald Tusk also issued a joint letter of congratulations and stated that the European Union (EU) will work to speed up the implementation of the remainder of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement , including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area . Zelenskyy was inaugurated on 20 May 2019. Various foreign officials attended

5832-478: The voice of Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian dubbing of Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017). Zelenskyy was a member of the board and the general producer of the TV channel Inter from 2010 to 2012. Later in 2018, Zelenskyy said that then-President Yanukovych had offered him US$ 100 million for political control of Kvartal 95's programmes after he became general producer of Inter, but Zelenskyy refused. In August 2014, Zelenskyy spoke out against

5913-627: The war. Before starting elementary school, Zelenskyy lived for four years in the Mongolian city of Erdenet , where his father worked as a mining engineer from the mid-1970s to help build a copper mine, applying his abilities in computer science to mining. Zelenskyy grew up speaking Russian. At the age of 16 he passed the Test of English as a Foreign Language and received an education grant to study in Israel, but his father did not allow him to go. He later earned

5994-434: The world gathered at the YES conference. Among the participants are Volodymyr and Olena Zelenska , Chief of Military Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov , Boris Johnson , Victoria Nuland , Francis Fukuyama , Timothy Snyder . YouTube: YES WAR ROOM: Yalta European Strategy Annual Meeting 2023 Opening Volodymyr Zelenskyy [REDACTED] Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978)

6075-479: The world. 2014 – Held on September 11–13 in Kyiv . 2015 – Held on September 10–12, 2015 in Mystetskyi Arsenal under the slogan "At risk: How the fate of the new Ukraine affects Europe and the world". 2016 – Held under the slogan "World, Europe and Ukraine: storms of change". 2017 – It was held under the slogan "Has the world become new? And what does this mean for Ukraine?". 2018 – Held under

6156-489: Was ambushed by a Russian commando unit after landing; the Ukrainian force killed several Russian soldiers before retreating to Ukrainian-controlled territory. According to The New York Times , Budanov was brought to the United States for treatment at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after being wounded in fighting in the Donbas. On 4 April 2019, Budanov's Chevrolet Evanda car

6237-418: Was blown up by a Russian with documents in the name of "Alexei Lomaka", who planted a mine, but it detonated prematurely. The attacker and the sabotage group that were supposed to blow up Budanov were detained. In 2020, he became deputy director of one of the departments of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine . On 5 August 2020, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Budanov as head of

6318-499: Was not a populist ; however, other scholars have analysed Zelenskyy's politics in the framework of populism. For instance, political scientist Volodymyr Kulyk described Zelenskyy as practising "inclusionary" populism that claims to defend "the people" against "the elite" while defining "the people" in a way inclusive of all ethnic, linguistic, religious, and other groups. Scholar Kostiantyn Yanchenko described Zelenskyy's campaign as characterised by "populist hyperreality " constructed by

6399-496: Was one of the members of the elite Unit 2245 of the Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate trained by CIA . The New York Times reports that Budanov gained a reputation for participating in bold operations behind enemy lines. In 2016, while still a lieutenant colonel, he reportedly led a special forces unit in an amphibious raid on Russian-occupied Crimea to plant explosives at an airfield. Budanov's unit

6480-472: Was paid to the future of Greater Europe and the prospects for cooperation and integration of Ukraine. The 10th Yalta annual meeting was held in 2013 under the slogan "Ukraine and the world in the era of change: success factors". More than 250 leading representatives of political, business and public circles from more than 20 countries of the world were presented at the forum, who discussed the main global challenges and their impact on Ukraine, Greater Europe and

6561-419: Was widespread speculation that he was planning to run. As early as October 2018, three months before his campaign announcement and six months before the presidential election, he was already a frontrunner in opinion polls. After months of ambiguous statements, on 31 December, less than four months from the election, Zelenskyy announced his candidacy for president of Ukraine on the New Year's Eve evening show on

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