When the war in Ukraine broke out on February 24, Olena Zelenska and her children were ordered to evacuate from the capital Kyiv and to a safe place.
It is uncertain whether the first lady has met her husband face to face after this at all. In an interview with Vogue one month ago, she said that so far they had only had contact by phone.
On Tuesday, however, the two reunited in Kyiv, to attend the funeral of Ukraine’s first president, Leonid Kravchuk.
88-year-old Kravtsjuk died last weekend after a long illness.
The photos show the couple, dressed in black and with serious eyes, laying flowers by a coffin covered by the Ukrainian flag.
SHOWED HIS RESPECT: Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska and her husband Volodymyr Zelensky, here from the funeral on May 17 to Ukraine’s first president. REUTERS / Viacheslav Ratynskyi
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They did not show affection for each other, but stood side by side every time they were photographed.
It is the first time since the war started that Zelensky and his wife have been pictured together.
Rare press appearance
Zelenska has had very few public appearances during this period, as Dagbladet has previously mentioned.
The first public photos of her since February 24 were taken when she was a week and a half ago met US First Lady Jill Biden.
MEETED: US First Lady Jill Biden received photos from Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska during the former’s visit to the Ukrainian city of Uzhorod. Photo: Susan Walsh / Pool via REUTERS
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Then Zelenska and Biden were depicted smiling and embracing outside a school in the Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod, on the border with Slovakia and Hungary.
Despite few press appearances, Zelenskyj’s wife is active on the photo sharing service Instagram. There, she regularly shares photos and messages about the war to her 2.6 million followers.
And although she has reportedly been physically separated from her husband for several months, they have stood together as strong symbols of the Ukrainians’ resistance and morale.
– Completely in a class of its own
OsloMet professor at the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, Kristin Skare Orgeret, told Dagbladet on Monday that she is impressed with the way the presidential couple communicates with the world.
Rarely or never has the world seen a presidential couple who communicate so well both within the people and on the big international stage. When we add both the use of social media and visual tools, they are completely in a class of their own.
SYMBOL: In 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky was elected President of Ukraine. Throughout the period, he has been side by side with his wife Olena Zelenska, but throughout the war they have had almost no physical contact. Nevertheless, they continue the fight against the Russians. Photo: AP / Sergei Grits / NTB
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Zelenska prefers to stay in the background, but according to the professor plays a very important role in the information work during the war. On social media, she especially shares pictures of women and children, which show how they suffer from the brutality of the war.
– She also highlights strong, acting women who participate in the war. The photos she uses are often taken by photojournalists, and she frames them with well-chosen, precise descriptions that also help to create patriotism.
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