Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and ‘the spirit of Ukraine’ have been named TIME Magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’ for 2022.
TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year is awarded annually to an individual who has done the most to influence the events of the year.
The decision to name Zelensky as the 2022 Person of the Year was the “most clear-cut in memory,” according to Edward Felsenthal, editor-in-chief of TIME.
“Whether the battle for Ukraine fills one with hope or with fear, Volodymyr Zelensky galvanized the world in a way we haven’t seen in decades,” Felsenthal wrote. “In the weeks after Russian bombs began falling on Feb. 24, his decision not to flee Kyiv but to stay and rally support was fateful. From his first 40-second Instagram post on Feb. 25—showing that his Cabinet and civil society were intact and in place—to daily speeches delivered remotely to the likes of houses of Parliament, the World Bank, and the Grammy Awards, Ukraine’s President was everywhere. His information offensive shifted the geopolitical weather system, setting off a wave of action that swept the globe.”
Felsenthal added that “the spirit of Ukraine was embodied by countless individuals inside and outside the country.”
“For proving that courage can be as contagious as fear, for stirring people and nations to come together in defense of freedom, for reminding the world of the fragility of democracy – and of peace – Volodymyr Zelensky and the spirit of Ukraine are TIME’s 2022 Person of the Year,” he said.
[Featured Image: AP]
