Time magazine named President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – "the spirit of Ukraine" – its 2022 person of the year on Wednesday, for the resistance the country has shown in the face of Russia's invasion and for saying he inspired Ukrainians and won global accolades for his courage.
Refusing to leave Ukraine's capital of Kyiv at the outbreak of the war as Russian bombs rained down, the former comedian rallied his compatriots in broadcasts from the capital and traveled across his war-torn nation, the publication noted in bestowing its annual title.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy visited Ukrainian troops near the front lines in eastern Ukraine.
"Zelenskyy's success as a wartime leader has relied on the fact that courage is contagious. It spread through Ukraine’s political leadership in the first days of the invasion, as everyone realized the president had stuck around," Time wrote in acknowledging the 44-year-old leader.
"Whether the battle for Ukraine fills one with hope or with fear, Volodymyr Zelenskyy galvanized the world in a way we haven't seen in decades," Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal wrote.
Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk was named Time's "Person of the Year" in 2021, a year that saw his electric car company become the most valuable carmaker in the world. Time began this tradition in 1927.
