Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year on Wednesday. Also recognized was the “spirit of Ukraine,” a nod to the country’s resilience under the attacks of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The magazine’s editors based their decision on who they felt had the most influence on the world this year.
From a career as a comedian, Zelensky became a president in 2019, and then in the wake of war, a leader of global stature.
On the evening Russian forces crossed the border and began bombing Kyiv, Zelensky expressed a national mission: “Putin began a war against Ukraine and against the entire democratic world,” he said. “He wants to destroy our country and everything we have been building, but we know the strength of the Ukrainian people.”
The candidates on the short list for 2022 included:
- Elon Musk
- Xi Jinping
- The Supreme Court
- Liz Cheney
- Volodymyr Zelensky
- MacKenzie Scott
- Protesters in Iran
- Ron DeSantis
- Janet Yellen
- Gun safety advocates