Touching words were shared yesterday between Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife in their first joint interview since the start of Russia ’s invasion.
The couple, who had been separated for two and a half months by Vladimir Putin's bombs, met Ukrainian journalists over a cup of tea to mark three years in power.
In the 75-minute pre-recorded interview, the first lady, Olena Zelenska, 44, said: “I can’t say that Volodymyr has changed since the start of this war, he was a reliable husband and a reliable man before, and that he remains.
"His point of view hasn’t changed, the way he’s wired hasn’t changed.”
Like many Ukrainian families, Olena was forced to flee with their two children as her husband became the “number one target” for Russian forces.
However, the couple revealed they would call while they were eating to feel closer.
The president said: “You would say, ‘I’m having dinner’, and I would say, ‘Me too’ but we couldn’t do it together.
“I would always finish the call thinking, ‘There is something missing, something more delicious yet to be eaten’.”
When asked by his wife if the war had changed her, Zelensky replied: “You look beautiful [as always].”
Screenwriter Zelenska admitted she did not have time to edit her husband’s epic speeches, adding: “Sometimes he uses too many literary devices and sometimes too few.”
President Zelensky said of peace prospects: “I really thought that we could end with a pure dialogue but this will be a bloody war.
“The end will ultimately be in diplomacy because there are some things we will not be able to finish other than at the negotiating table.
“Because we want everything back but the Russian Federation wants to give nothing away.”
In a rousing echo of words he used when he entered office, he added: “We weren’t the ones who started this war but we will be the ones to end it.”
Russia claimed yesterday that they had full control of Mariupol after the final defenders surrendered at the Azovatal steelworks. Moscow claimed over 2,000 Ukrainian fighters have surrendered there.
The Kremlin also banned 963 Americans from entering Russia, including President Biden, after he announced £32billion in extra aid for Ukraine, half of it military.
However, in a setback to aid efforts, Russia yesterday said they had destroyed an arms delivery in the western city of Zhytomyr with sea-launched Kalibr missiles.
Elsewhere in Europe, Finland was banned from importing Russian gas after refusing to pay in rubles.
And Poland has asked the EU for more help with the overwhelming number of refugees in the country.
Fears that the war would spread beyond Ukraine increased yesterday after a Russian professor of political science claimed on state television that it could simply be a rehearsal for a bigger war against NATO.
