The First Lady of Ukraine gushed in a new interview that the ongoing war with Russia has strengthened her marriage to her presidential husband.
Olena Zelenska said that Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s stamina in the face of their bloodshed and political turmoil is “proof” she married the right partner 20 years earlier.
“I think we are closer and more tied because we have supported each other the way in which we hoped,” Olena Zelenska told the Daily Mail at the office of the President in central Kyiv.
“I think I didn’t let him down, and he never lets me down,” she continued.
Olena Zelenska (in Ukrainian, the married name often takes on a feminine ending, the Daily Mail notes) told the outlet that she and the couple’s two children have been living apart from the Ukrainian President since Russia invaded their country in February 2022.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy famously chose to stay in the wartown capital of Ukraine despite being given the opportunity to shelter safely.
The bravery the former actor displayed — and continues to display — has only made Olena Zelenska’s love for her husband grow stronger, despite having few opportunities to spend with her life partner.
“I have to be frank, yes, I am proud of him,” Olena Zelenska said.
“But it was not a surprise for me. It was just another proof that I chose the right person,” she continued.
“In the terrifying days, weeks and months at the start of the war, I didn’t doubt for a second the way he’d behave. But I am even more proud of his resilience. This is a long-lasting marathon.”
As much as Olena Zelenska gushed about her husband, she made it clear she harbors hatred for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to the First Lady, Russia is being run by “some sort of monster.”
When asked whether she worried about the possibility of Donald Trump — who has campaigned on cutting funding for Ukraine’s military — winning his re-election bid, Olena Zelenska said she hopes that is nothing more than “mere speculation.”
“The US election is something that a lot depends on for many countries, especially for those who, like us, hope for their support,” she said.
More than 11,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since the war broke out 18 months prior, as well as up to 100,000 soldiers, officials estimate.
On Saturday, Russia launched a cruise missile and an aerial bomb across the border into Ukraine that sparked a fire in the city of Sumy, killing two Ukrainian soldiers.
The Kremlin also flew kamikaze drones overnight into Ukrainian airspace Friday.
The attack came as Ukraine continued to push into Russian territory. One expert slammed Russia for its “complete intelligence failure” in the face of Ukraine’s historic offensive.
Moscow appeared to have been taken by surprise as Ukraine pushed its way into the town of Sudzhe in the Kursk region this week, with authorities giving no indication that anything was remiss, according to a report.
One French military expert blasted Russia for its inability to see what was coming.
“The Russians had a complete intelligence failure here,” Yohann Michel, a research fellow at IESD Institute in Lyon, told Reuters.
