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[paraphrased from MSN story, feb.26.22]
Volodymyr Zelensky was born to Jewish parents in 1978 in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih.
As a young adult, Zelensky studied and received a law degree from the Kryvyi Rih Institute of Economics and was passionate about comedy alongside his studies.
Zelensky began organising comedy shows and had his big break in the Ukrainian entertainment industry. After starring in various feature films, Zelensky became the star of the television comedy and political satire series, Servant of the People in 2015.
In the series, he played the President of Ukraine. The series was produced by Kvartal 95 - a film production company owned by Volodymyr Zelensky . Ukrainian media outlets reported that Zelensky's company Kvartal 95 donated 1 million in Ukrainian currency to the national army.
Three years later Zelensky entered politics and founded a party aptly called Servant of the People. He had no previous political experience. He amassed 73% of the election vote.
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Zelensky national address -
"Today Russia launched an invasion on Ukraine. Putin started a war against Ukraine, against all [the] democratic world. He wants to destroy my home: everything we have built, everything we have lived for. You are brave and unbreakable because you are Ukrainians."
...
Russia attacks Ukraine at strategic locations -
bbc.com
from AP News
Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko
"... Then, in the same breath, he rallied like the world heavyweight boxing champion he once was.
'That’s why the message for everyone is support Ukraine together ... we are strong,' he said. 'Every Ukrainian is proud to be independent, proud to be Ukrainian, and we are proud to have our own country.' "
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Putin signs decree issued by the Kremlin authoirizing the Russian Defense Ministry to send troops into the area to 'maintain peace'.
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Reports emerge to counteract Russian aim for making Ukraine appear as aggressor.
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Putin compares Donbas war zone to genocide .
[from crisisgroup.org -
'The war pits Ukrainian government forces against Russia-backed separatists for control over much of the two heavily industrialised regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, also known as Donbas.. ' ]
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The White House releases statement to identify planned direction for 7Dec video call between Biden and Putin, to include " .. U.S. concerns with Russian military activities on the border with Ukraine and reaffirm the United States’ support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."
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[paraphrased from 'Fighting a Hybrid War with Hybrid Means: Zelensky Sanctions Pro-Russia Media and Parties' wilsoncenter.org feb.22.2022 ]
NSDC, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, banned three TV channels related to OPFL (Ukraine’s second-largest parliamentary party) leader and Putin’s personal friend, the MP Viktor Medvedchuk - NewsOne, 112 Ukraine, and ZIK news outlets which covered political reporting and talk shows.
In 2020, Medvedchuk's media empire made him one of the ten richest Ukrainians. In Feb 2021, he was accused of treason and placed under house arrest.
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[from bbc.com]
Putin has accused Ukraine of being taken over by extremists since 2014 when the pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych was ousted after months of protests.
Russia retaliated by seizing the southern region of Crimea and triggering a rebellion in the east, backing separatists who have fought Ukrainian forces since that time.
