Ukraine president's wife tells of family life in rare interview

Olena Zelenska reveals what family life is like without husband by her side

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena Zelenska attend the funeral of the country's first president, Leonid Kravchuk, in Kyiv on May 17. Reuters

Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, has said “not even the war” could take her husband, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, away from her.

But she admitted that she and their children “hardly see him” since the start of the Russian invasion.

“Our family, like all Ukrainian families, is now separated,” Ms Zelenska told national broadcaster ICTV, sitting alongside her husband in a rare interview.

Mr Zelenskyy has become one of the world’s most recognisable leaders since the start of Russia’s invasion.

Ms Zelenska said the couple went more than two months without seeing each other and would often have dinner conversations by phone.

A pro-Russian troop stands guard before the expected departure of Ukrainian soldiers, who surrendered at the besieged Azovstal steel mill in the course of conflict in Mariupol. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier on reconnaissance in a recently retaken village on the outskirts of Kharkiv, east Ukraine. AP Photo

The destroyed part of the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. AFP

US President Joe Biden, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto walk through the White House rose garden after discussing the war, as well as potential Nato membership, in Washington. AP

Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered at the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol are escorted by pro-Russian troops to Olenivka in the breakaway Donetsk region. Reuters

Ukrainian National Guard soldiers train in the woods of the Transcarpathian region. Reuters

A roof damaged during Russia's invasion of Ukraine is rebuilt in Moshchun village, near Kyiv. Reuters

Ukrainian children play war games at a "checkpoint" they set up in Stoyanka, near Kyiv. AFP

Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin, centre, on trial for war crimes in the Solomyansky district court in Kyiv, Ukraine. AFP

A controlled detonation of explosive devices is conducted near Borodianka, Ukraine. Reuters

A Russian serviceman adjusts the Soviet flag on a statue in Leninsky Komsomol Square in Mariupol, Ukraine. EPA

A couple leave a metro station where they had been living after fleeing Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Getty Images

Ukrainian forces leave the Azovstal steel works plant in Mariupol. AFP

Russian militrary vehicles follow buses (not in picture) carrying Ukrainian troops being evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. EPA

Members of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic forces carry water bottles as the evacuation of Ukrainian soldiers is carried out in Mariupo. EPA

Ukrainian separatist troops and Russian soldiers, rear right, guard the buses with Ukrainian troops, in Mariupol. EPA

A member of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic forces escorts a Ukrainian fighter being evacuated from the steel plant. EPA

Russian militrary vehicles escort buses carrying Ukrainian troops from the Azovstal steel plant. EPA

A total of 265 Ukrainian militants, including 51 seriously wounded, laid down arms and surrendered to Russian forces, the Russian Ministry of Defence said on May 17. EPA

A Ukrainian soldier sits on a bus as troops are evacuated. EPA

Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 21 ordered his defence minister to not storm but blockade the plant where a number of Ukrainian fighters were holding out. EPA

Those in need of medical assistance were sent for treatment to a hospital in Novoazovsk, Russia said. EPA

Some of the Ukrainian troops evacuated from the steel plant. AP

A pro-Russian fighter stands guard next to a combat vehicle, before the evacuation of wounded Ukrainian soldiers from the besieged Azovstal steel mill,in Mariupol. Reuters

Pro-Russian troops wait before the evacuation of wounded Ukrainian soldiers from the Azovstal steel mill. Reuters

A wounded Ukrainian soldier evacuated from Mariupol is carried on a stretcher out of a bus, after arriving in Novoazovsk. Reuters

Buses carrying Ukrainian soldiers from the besieged Azovstal steel mill drive away under escort of the pro-Russian forces, in Mariupol. Reuters

Pro-Russian troops stand guard on a road in Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters

Left to right, clockwise: Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyzstan's President Sadyr Japarov, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tajikistan's President Emomali Rakhmon, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Stanislav Zas, Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), and Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko hold a meeting of CSTO leaders at the Kremlin in Moscow. AFP

Finland's President Sauli Niinisto and US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell answer questions from the media as Republican senators John Barrasso, Susan Collins and John Cornyn and US new ambassador to Finland Douglas Hickey listen, after a meeting at the president's official residence in Helsinki. Reuters

Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson speaks to the media before the parliamentary debate on Swedish Nato membership, in Stockholm. Reuters

Firefighters work at a scene of a missile strike, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, in Zatoka, Odesa region. Reuters

A closed McDonald's restaurant in Moscow. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier walks past a wrecked Russian armoured personnel carrier, near Kutuzivka, north of Kharkiv. AP

A screengrab obtained from a video shows Ukrainian troops at the Ukraine-Russia border, in what was said to be the Kharkiv region. Reuters

Water gushes from a pump station after Ukrainian troops opened a dam to flood a residential area in Demydiv, to stop the advance of Russian forces towards the capital Kyiv. Reuters

Residental buildings damaged by shelling in Irpin, Kyiv region. EPA

Activists line up to form a peace sign in front of the building that houses the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, in Berlin. The event was organised by Greenpeace. AFP

Officials stand together for a photo at an informal meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Berlin, with the focus on the potential membership of Finland and Sweden. Getty Images

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin (L) and President Sauli Niinisto hold a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, where they announced the country's intentions to apply for Nato membership. AP

An Ukrainian girl with the national flag painted on her face attends a cultural event in support of the besieged country in a metro station in Dnipro, Ukraine. Reuters

Kalush Orchestra of Ukraine are named the winners of the 66th Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy. Getty Images

Members of the Ukrainian military celebrate Kalush Orchestra winning the Eurovision Song Contest, at their position in the Kyiv region. Reuters

Refugees from Mariupol region arrive at a registration and humanitarian aid centre for internally displaced people in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Reuters

A damaged street on the outskirts of Kharkiv. EPA

A damaged residential building on the outskirts of Kharkiv. EPA

Debris hangs from a regional government building in Mykolaiv, which was heavily damaged in a Russian attack. AP

Former students play table tennis in the playground of a destroyed school in Kharkiv. Reuters

Mr Zelenskyy, a former comedian and media personality, at times interrupted with humorous remarks.

“It’s all a joke. That is, you see, everything is fine," Ms Zelenska said.

"We are joking but we are really waiting, like everyone else, to be reunited, like all families in Ukraine who are separated now, waiting for their relatives and friends who want to be together again."

She thanked the interviewers for giving her an opportunity to see her husband, in what Mr Zelenskyy called a “date on air”.

Ms Zelenska also shared memories of the morning of February 24, when Russian tanks rolled across the border.

She said she woke up without her husband by her side and found him in another room, where he told her: "It has begun."

“Well, emotions cannot be conveyed because it is horror and numbness,” Ms Zelenska explained.

She said they all understood that “life had changed forever”.

“And now I live for the fact when he finally says: ‘It’s over’.”

The interview was timed to coincide with the third anniversary of Mr Zelenskyy’s inauguration as president.