“The number one target is all of us’-First Lady Olena Zelenska warns no one in Ukraine is safe from Russian forces.

When Russian troops invaded Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska refused to escape or give in, opting instead for defiance in the face of invasion, as did many of their countrymen and women.

While the President has been focused on the military counter-offensive against Russian forces, the First Lady has been striving to raise global awareness of ordinary Ukrainians’ suffering as a result of the war.

In an interview with CNN, Zelenska expressed her feelings openly.

“It’s like walking a tightrope: If you start thinking how you do it, you lose time and balance. So, to hold on, you just must go ahead and do what you do. In the same way, as far as I know, all Ukrainians hold on.”

“Many of those who escaped from the battlefields alone, who saw death, say the main cure after the experience is to act, to do something, to be helpful for somebody. I am personally supported by the fact that I try to protect and support others. Responsibility disciplines.”

”Children and their needs were one of the main areas of my work, along with the introduction of … equal rights for all Ukrainians. Before the war we launched a reform of school nutrition, preparing for it for several years, to make it tasty and healthy at the same time so that children get sick less.”

On the first day of the war it became clear that there was no panic. Yes, Ukrainians did not believe in war — we believed in civilized dialogue. But when the attack took place, we did not become a “frightened crowd,” as the enemy had hoped. No. We became an organized community.

“At once, the political and other controversies that exist in every society disappeared. Everyone came together to protect their home.

I see examples every day, and I never get tired of writing about it. Yes, Ukrainians are incredible.”

“And indeed, I write a lot about our women, because their participation is everywhere — they are in the armed forces and the defense forces, most of them are medics. And they are the ones who take children and families to safety. For example, only they can go abroad. So, in some ways their role is even more diverse than men’s; this is more than equality!”