KYIV, July 11 — Against this backdrop of a grinding war that has reshaped the European security order, Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains the figure around whom Ukraine’s resistance continues to turn. Now in his seventh year as president, the former comedian and actor has undergone a transformation that the continent’s chancelleries still struggle to fully measure. Born on January 25, 1978, in the industrial city of Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy entered politics from the world of entertainment, winning the 2019 presidential election with 73 percent of the vote.
It was a landslide victory that reflected a deep public desire for change, but few in Brussels or Rome predicted what would follow. The full-scale Russian invasion of February 24, 2022, altered everything.
Since that date, Zelenskyy has led Ukraine’s war effort from the capital, refusing evacuation offers and becoming the public face of his country’s defiance. In the corridors of NATO headquarters and European Union councils, his nightly video addresses have become a fixture — a direct line to a nation under siege and to the international community watching. One of the most striking developments under his leadership has been the expansion of Ukraine’s naval drone capabilities.
These unmanned vessels, operating in the Black Sea, have allowed Kyiv to strike at Russian naval assets and disrupt supply lines in ways that seemed improbable in the early months of the war. In his nightly address on October 15, 2024, Zelenskyy praised the drone campaign specifically for its effectiveness in disrupting Russian logistics.
What is at stake in this campaign is not merely tactical advantage. By targeting Russian supply chains and naval infrastructure, Ukraine has sought to alter the wider picture of the conflict — to demonstrate that Russia’s military is vulnerable even in areas it once considered secure. Zelenskyy has vowed to continue these attacks until Russian forces withdraw from Ukrainian territory, a condition that Moscow has so far shown no sign of meeting.
His diplomatic push has been equally relentless. In September 2022, Ukraine formally applied for NATO membership, a move that Zelenskyy has consistently framed as the only long-term security guarantee for his country. The application remains pending, with NATO members divided over the timing and conditions of any potential accession while the war continues.
Zelenskyy has also been a persistent voice calling for increased international support and tougher sanctions against Russia. This has placed him at the center of European debates about how far to go in arming Ukraine and how tightly to close economic pressure on Moscow.
For many in Italy and across the EU, his appeals carry the weight of a neighbor’s existential struggle — a conflict that has sent energy prices soaring and refugees streaming westward. The man who once made Ukrainians laugh now delivers wartime addresses from a bunker in Kyiv. The stage has changed, but the performance — if it can be called that — has taken on a gravity few could have anticipated when he took office in 2019.
Looking ahead, the trajectory of Zelenskyy’s leadership will depend on several factors: the flow of Western military aid, the resilience of Ukraine’s own defense industry, and the political will in capitals from Washington to Berlin to sustain support. His insistence on NATO membership and on the complete withdrawal of Russian forces leaves little room for compromise, and with the war now in its third year, the question of how long both sides can sustain the fight remains open.
