<figure id="attachment_232646" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 5448px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-232646"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f5357d6f"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/03/bd9abad6ff1590d0ecb26c219d88820c.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-232646" class="wp-caption-text">President Zelensky continues to deliver his message to the nation while protected by armed soldiers (Image: AFP/Afro)</figcaption></figure>
 19% to 91%.
 This is the change in the approval rating of President Zelensky, 44, before and after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On March 1, Zelensky was interviewed jointly by Reuters (UK) and CNN (US) and made the following statement.
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 First of all, Russia must stop bombing innocent people. Then we can come to the negotiating table.&#8221;
 When U.S. President Biden suggested the assassins and recommended that they flee the capital, Kiev, he refused, saying, &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to be a part of this.
 I am in Kiev to defend my people, my independence, and my land. I am with senior government officials.&#8221;
 President Zelensky has the world&#8217;s attention. It is well known that he was originally a comedy personality, not a politician. He was born in the eastern Ukrainian industrial city of Krivylykh and graduated from the prestigious Kiev University of Economics with a degree in law.
 He has been a self-proclaimed talent for comedy since his student days, and after graduation he formed his own comedy troupe called &#8220;95th Street District.&#8221; He also worked on scripts, screenplays, and program production, and became a popular comedy actor&#8221; (reporter from the international section of a national newspaper).
<h2>What&#8217;s Inside the Popular Drama That Became Reality</h2>
 The turning point was the drama &#8220;Servant of the People&#8221; broadcast on Ukrainian state television in 2003. In the drama, Zelensky assumed the presidency and gave a good performance as an amateur politician who confronts corruption and injustice in the political world with a touch of humor. He became popular with the public.
 In April 2007, he was elected the 6th President of the United States with over 70% of the vote. He was only 41 years old at the time.
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 However, for Zelensky, who had no political experience, the early years of his presidency were a series of adversities. Professor Itsuro Nakamura of Tsukuba University, an expert on the situation in Eastern Europe, told &#8220;FRIDAY Digital.
 One of Zelensky&#8217;s major stumbling blocks was the decision to place the video crew of the comedy troupe &#8220;95th Street&#8221; at the center of his administration. They were a group of political amateurs who gave priority to performance and failed to make a mark in the field of public administration.
 The country was in turmoil, and President Zelensky&#8217;s approval rating slumped. The invasion by Russia was underway. Despite the unprecedented national crisis, President Zelensky&#8217;s approval ratings soared. The reason behind the film&#8217;s success, which was praised both at home and abroad, was the presence of the film staff, which had been considered a negative factor until then.
 They have the latest digital skills and image strategies. On February 25, they released a selfie video of themselves standing on the street with their entourage in a dark place near the presidential palace. On February 25, they released a selfie of themselves standing in the street with their entourage in a darkened area near the presidential palace, saying, &#8216;We are here with the people. And by wearing a green abbreviated military uniform at the press conference, he&#8217;s showing that he will never give in to Russia&#8217;s unreasonable demands.
 The president&#8217;s message has created a sense of unity among the people. Some in Europe and the United States liken this to British Prime Minister Churchill, who fought to the bitter end against the Nazi offensive in Germany during World War II. He is a courageous leader who stood up to a great power. &#8230;&#8230; Such an image may have taken root both at home and abroad. President Putin, on the other hand, is a complete villain. The fact that he has been isolated from the rest of the international community because of the impression that he is an aggressor must be a major miscalculation for President Putin.
 Hardship changes people. Will Ukraine, under a strong leader, be able to repel Russia&#8217;s aggression?

 AFP/Afro

 Ukrainian President Zelensky's reputation is soaring. However, when the comedian-turned-president first took office, he suffered from a series of missteps and his approval rating slumped to 19%. What is the surprising reason for this turnaround?

An expert in information dissemination…Ukraine’s president “behind the surge in ratings”

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