Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has lived mainly in a simple, austere room in his office since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago.
“This is my house, I live here,” Zelensky said as he gave journalist Dmytro Komarov a tour of his office as part of a new documentary.
Zelensky’s small room contains a single bed, a sink, and other modest furniture.
Zelensky told how he woke up at home with his family on the day of the invasion and how he got to his office, where he has since spent most of his time as wartime president.
“I love my family, but for me, as president, being here was a priority,” he said.
In April last year, two months into the war, Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska said she had not seen her husband in person since the war began.
In the documentary, Zelensky also showed off his closet, filled with his now trademark casual and mostly khaki clothes, as well as some suits he said he hopes to wear after the war.
He also showed the journalist the back room from which he made international phone calls and spoke to dozens of world leaders on the morning of the invasion.
One leader he said he did not speak to was his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Zelensky said that while he had made an effort to speak directly to Putin before the invasion, he had been repeatedly rebuffed.
Asked if he would now speak to Putin, Zelensky said: “No. Now I’m not ready to talk to him.”
The Ukrainian president also explained why he chose to stay in the country despite being warned that he was a target and to pack up and go.
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