His intuition as showman for timing and communication on the most human stage has been the making of him as chief and saviour of his nation. However for his efficiency, good innovation by skilled and beginner fighters, and sheer Russian incompetence, Kyiv certainly would have fallen inside days of Russia’s invasion in late February 2022. But Zelensky had solely been catapulted from showbiz into the presidency three years earlier than in 2019. He was a profitable media businessman in addition to entertainer, with a wealthy number of contacts among the many oligarchs and influencers in Kyiv and Moscow, the place most of his productions had been based mostly. He grew up within the rundown industrial city of Kryvyi Ri, in a Jewish household who spoke Russian somewhat than Ukrainian.