Vladimir and Elena Zelenskaya/Photo by the press service of the OP
Every Ukrainian remembers the morning of February 24th when the massive Russian invasion began. How President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Elena met the outbreak of war three months ago – read the article.
They spoke about their morning on February 24 during a big interview in a telethon about three years of presidency, channel 24 reports. February
Zelensky emphasized that they were at home at that time, and not somewhere abroad. The First Lady was the first to remember her morning.
I woke up from strange sounds outside the window, like everyone else, probably. It was still dark, and I saw that Vladimir was not around, so I went to the next room. He was already dressed in a suit, I asked what was happening, and he only answered: “It has begun,” says Elena.
Zelenskaya says she cannot convey emotions, because it was horror and numbness. Vladimir then left and the couple did not see each other for some time.
“I understand that at that moment he was like a” tight string. “We immediately realized that life had changed forever. And now I live by waiting for him to say: “That's it, it's over. Victory”, she assured.
Zelenskaya suggests she might not be the first person he says this to because he's always at work right now, but I want to hear it at least on TV with the others.
Zelensky confirmed that on the morning of February 24, pops were heard. He got calls before the shots started.
We were ready for this for some time, because intelligence, the military were watching. We understood where the risk of an offensive could come from. Therefore, when the shots started from there, they called me,” he said.
The President recalls that he told Elena that she should explain everything to the children normally, because this is a war, there is no need to invent anything.< /p>
“Everyone should understand how to behave. On the eve of February 24, I arrived home very late, we discussed these issues, all the papers that we have to do were prepared. We did some things in advance, in particular, with regard to the state reserve, etc. Everything was safe,” he added.
How the children reacted
Elena says that the children needed to be told something when they were woken up at 4 in the morning and told to pack.
But they even surprised me. I tried to be energetic, not to show anything, and they followed my instructions in a disciplined manner, quickly getting ready. After some time, the understanding came that we did not know when we would see dad (Vladimir Zelensky), so there were tears, she adds.
The First Lady emphasized that the children are doing well, as dad. “They know that he will survive, and they will,” Zelenskaya replied.
“We lived in the war even before February 24”
When asked if Volodymyr Zelensky believed that the war would begin, he replied that Ukraine lived in the war.
We lived in a constant hybrid war (until February 24), there were many attacks, including cyber attacks. This was long before the start of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, we understood that some preparation was taking place, and no one fully understood the volume or impudence of Russia. – said the president.
According to him, it's one thing when you understand that tanks will certainly come from Belarus. And another thing is that missiles are actually flying out of Belarus.
“It seems like a small difference, but in fact it is not. After all, you are fighting with those forces that are on the territory of Belarus, or those that are crossing the territory of Belarus, or are you fighting with two countries? No one knew exactly what was happening. What would Intelligence didn’t tell you, no one fully knew the details, everyone was preparing for different scenarios,” Zelensky noted.
He claims that Ukraine began preparing for an invasion in September-October.
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Zelenskaya spoke about their morning on February 24: video
By the way, earlier Zelenskaya told how the presidential spouses from -for the war. According to her, their family is now separated, but she believes that no one will take her husband away from her, even the war.
“Yes, he lives at work, we hardly see it . We didn’t see each other for 2.5 months, we only talked on the phone. Now we have had several opportunities to meet. And I am also grateful to you for this opportunity, because we are now spending time together,” the first lady shared. Zelensky added that this is such a meeting on the air.
