Glossy photos in front of a war backdrop: photos of the Ukrainian president’s wife Olena Selenska by star photographer Annie Leibovitz for “Vogue” are disturbing. In an interview with the magazine, Volodymyr Zelenskyj’s wife is crystal clear about this.
Olena Selenska graces the digital cover of Vogue. The journalist Rachel Donadio met the First Lady of Ukraine for the international fashion magazine for two talks in the country shaken by the Russian war of aggression. Star photographer Annie Leibovitz portrayed Selenska for the cover.
Another picture shows the first lady holding hands with her husband, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “Being on the cover of ‘Vogue’ magazine is a great honor and a dream for many successful and prominent people in this world. Only I wish you all not to be because there is a war raging in your countries,” writes the 44-year-old to the photo on Instagram.
What she would like, on the other hand, is to see every Ukrainian woman here in her place, says Selenska. Anyone who fought, volunteered, stuck it out in refugee camps, kept working to the sound of sirens and endured the occupation deserved to be on the covers of the world. All Ukrainian women are now “the face and cover of our country”.
In other pictures, Selenska poses in a state hall protected from bullets with sandbags or surrounded by heavily armed soldiers in front of a pile of rubble. The shots, which seem like fashion photos, are disturbing in view of the backdrop.
In a related article entitled “A Portrait of Courage,” Selenska talks, among other things, about the fact that the past few months have been “the most terrible (…) of my life,” but also of the lives of all Ukrainians. “Honestly, I don’t think anyone realizes how we managed to handle it emotionally.” At the same time, the First Lady propagates perseverance: “We’re looking forward to victory. We have no doubt that we will win. And that’s what drives us.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on the other hand, explains in an interview with “Vogue” that he believes he can be a role model “for a part of our people”. “But my wife, who stayed here, is a role model for women and children. I think she plays a very important role for Ukraine, for our families and for our women.”
Of course, Olena Selenska is his “great love,” says the president about his wife, with whom he has two children. She is also “really my best friend. She’s also a patriot and loves Ukraine deeply. That’s true. And she’s an amazing mother.”
According to her own statements, Olena Selenska never really wanted to come to the fore. “I like to stay in the background – that suited me,” she explains in the “Vogue” interview. “Stepping into the limelight was quite difficult for me.” But she tries to do her best. Selenska recently asked the United States for more weapons in a speech at the Capitol in Washington.
“We lived a happy life and never thought that something like this would happen. But we have hope,” said Selenska. She still feels isolated. “I cannot freely go where I want.” Even a simple purchase is “a dream that cannot be realized”.
According to Vogue, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not seen his two children since the beginning of the war for security reasons. “It’s much harder for him in this regard. He suffers. And then my children suffer because they can’t see each other,” Selenska is quoted as saying.
