Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced this weekend that he had held a video conversation with American late night comedian Jimmy Fallon to discuss “options for cooperation” to bring awareness to Russia’s ongoing invasion of the country.
Zelensky, a former sitcom star who rose to the presidency as an outsider candidate in 2019, has prioritized using American celebrities to keep the ongoing war in his country in the news in America and, thus, pressure the international community to sanction the Russian regime and fund his military. Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, colonizing its Crimean peninsula and backing proxy separatist forces in the Donbass region, but escalated its hostilities in February, causing international alarm.
That month, Russian leader Vladimir Putin delivered a speech recognizing the separatist groups as two different countries – the Donetsk and Luhansk “People’s Republics,” and claiming that Ukraine had “no tradition” of being a country and was “completely created by Russia.” Putin then formally sent the Russian military into Ukraine.
Jimmy Fallon joins Sean Penn, Ben Stiller, and Jessica Chastain among other Hollywood celebrities who have either held virtual summits with Zelensky or visited Kyiv in solidarity with the Ukrainian government since the escalation of Russian hostilities this year.
“We had a video talk with the American talk show host, actor Jimmy Fallon,” Zelensky wrote on his Instagram account on Friday, sharing a photo of his computer with the Fallon video call clearly visible. “We discussed options for cooperation that would bring even more world attention to the events in Ukraine.”
“One cannot get used to war in Europe in the 21st century. This topic needs to be continuously raised to the top, and famous people can help us with this,” Zelensky continued, apparently attempting to explain making time for Jimmy Fallon. “Jimmy, thank you for your attention to Ukraine and our struggle for freedom. We will be glad to see you on Ukrainian land.”
The state media outlet Ukrinform translated a statement from the presidential office in Cyrillic that added that Zelensky discussed the power of humor to “give additional strength to move forward” in war. Zelensky also reportedly extended Fallon a formal invitation to visit the country.
In addition to discussing awareness campaigns with the Tonight Show host, Zelensky reportedly “held a classified meeting with chiefs of the country’s defense and security sectors” on Sunday.
“Participants in the meeting were debriefed on the operational situation at the front, as well as discussed other classified security and defense issues,” according to an official statement from the president’s office relayed by Ukrinform. “Separately, we focused on the needs of the Ukrainian Army and coordination at various levels with Ukraine’s international partners.”
Zelensky has welcomed several American celebrities on awareness missions to Ukraine this year, most recently actress Jessica Chastain this month.
“American actress Jessica Chastain is in Ukraine today,” Zelensky posted on his Instagram at the time. “For us, such visits of famous people are extremely valuable. Thanks to this, the world will hear, know and understand the truth about what is happening in our country even more. Thanks for the support!”
Zelensky welcomed actor and producer Ben Stiller, a fellow comedian an a United Nations refugee office ambassador, in June.
“You quit a great acting career for this,” Stiller joked to Zelensky during their meeting, calling him a “hero.”
“Ukrainians feel the support of the whole world, many famous people. And Ben Stiller’s visit once again confirms this,” Zelensky said in gratitude.
Zelensky and wife, First Lady Olena Zelenska, posed for the cover of Vogue magazine in July. In the accompanying interview, Zelensky urged Americans to live with high gas prices to help Ukraine expel Russia from its territory.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky was eviscerated by social media users over his Vogue photoshoot with his wife, First Lady Olena Zelenska, which transpired while their country continues to be invaded by Russia. https://t.co/cl2AukM4b7
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) July 28, 2022
“I will be very honest and maybe not very diplomatic: Gas is nothing … just try to imagine what I’m talking about happening to your home, to your country,” Zelensky said. “Would you still be thinking about gas prices or electricity prices?”
After initial fears in February ebbed that the Russian military would decisively oust the Zelensky government given the significantly larger size of its military, the war between the two countries has largely stalled. Russia has ceased some of its hostilities in the greater area around the nation’s capital, Kyiv, but fighting has intensified in the southeast of the nation, particularly around the port city of Mariupol and Kherson, an early target of Russian attack. The Donbass region, which has largely seen ceaseless fighting since 2014, continues to endure fighting with little sign of either side ousting the other soon.
Zelensky has invested heavily in public awareness campaigns internationally, accepting invites to speak at nearly any venue that will allow it, from the legislatures of European and Asian countries to celebrity venues like the Grammy Awards. In his addresses, Zelensky routinely asks for international aid in the form of weapons and cash, a call that Europe and the United States have repeatedly answered.
“We need armaments, munitions for our defense,” Zelensky told defense leaders in a video call to a conference in Denmark last week, arguing that war in Ukraine endangers the entire European continent.
Zelensky has also repeatedly requested that any and all high-profile individuals consider visiting Kyiv in solidarity. Zelensky has invited leftist American President Joe Biden to Kyiv repeatedly since the latter took office in 2021, but Biden has not responded to the invite. During his last remarks discussing a potential Biden visit, in July, Zelensky said he was “hopeful” that Biden would one day visit Kyiv, but said he did not believe Biden had control over his own schedule: “I don’t know, that is his choice. I mean, not even his choice, it’s his security, it’s their choice.”
Biden has long had a difficult relationship with Zelensky, particularly in comparison to the friendly relations between Zelensky and predecessor Donald Trump. Biden’s son, Hunter, had established close ties to Ukrainian oligarchs under the corrupt regime of Zelensky’s predecessor Petro Poroshenko, through his position on the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
Snubbed Again! Zelensky Asks Biden to Visit Ukraine, Gets Blinken and Austin Insteadhttps://t.co/DqxKFUmkpx
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 26, 2022
Emails published between a top Burisma adviser and Hunter Biden suggest the company offered the younger Biden a position on the company in exchange for “deliverables” related to Hunter’s “influence,” presumably with his then-vice president father.
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President Biden has sent billions in weapons aid to Ukraine since February. Most recently, last week, the White House announced a nearly $3 billion military package for Zelensky, marking the occasion of Ukrainian Independence Day.
“I know this independence day is bittersweet for many Ukrainians as thousands have been killed or wounded, millions have been displaced from their homes, and so many others have fallen victim to Russian atrocities and attacks,” Biden said in an accompanying statement. “But six months of relentless attacks have only strengthened Ukrainians’ pride in themselves, in their country, and in their thirty-one years of independence.”
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