By Alexander Vasovich
Kyiv – Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has often removed official traps in his relations with the media, offering access to reporters who beat him at table tennis, and holding long peacetime press conferences in restaurants.
On Tuesday afternoon, the extraordinary circumstances of his interview with Reuters and CNN were necessary, not optional.
There was nothing playful about the former comedian’s message, and there was no theatricality in the unusual setting away from Bankova’s imposing presidential building in downtown Kyiv.
Reuters reporters were taken by minibus to the scene in the capital. The building looked like an unsightly Soviet-era administrative office, crowded mostly with young, heavily armed soldiers.
Sacks of sand blocked the bottom of the windows, the blinds were drawn, and the bright lights of the television crews gleamed in the darkness. The Ukrainian flag and the presidential standard have been moved closer to appear in the background.
Zelensky and his entourage appeared in the corridor, and after greeting reporters with a handshake and a smile, he stood on the first step of a small marble staircase to deliver his message.
Unshaven and tired but passionate and gesturing all the time, the 44-year-old called on the international community to do more in support of Ukraine.
He wore an olive T-shirt, pants and combat shoes, just as he had done on all social media appearances since the invasion began seven days ago.
He was a president at war, convinced that he was the number one target for the invasion of Russian forces encroaching on the capital. Asked about his daily routine, he replied: “I work and sleep.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a “special military operation” last Thursday in a bid to disarm Ukraine, capture unwanted elements he says rule the 44-million-strong country and shatter its hopes for closer ties with the West.
Mostly business and provocative emotions were expressed when Zelensky turned to the plight of Ukraine and its younger generation and the fact that he had not seen his own children for two days.
Asked how long his country will last, Zelenski replied: “We do not survive, we fight and our nation will fight to the end. This is our home, we protect the earth, our homes. In the name of our children’s future. “
(Written by Mike Colette-White)