WARSAW, Poland (AP) - When Volodymyr Zelenskyy was growing up in southeastern Ukraine, his Jewish family spoke Russian and his father once forbade the younger Zelenskyy from going abroad to study in Israel.
Instead, Zelenskyy studied law at home. Upon graduation, he found a new home in movie acting and comedy — rocketing in the 2010s to become one of Ukraine’s top entertainers with the TV series "Servant of the People."In it, he portrayed a lovable high school teacher fed up with corrupt politicians who accidentally becomes president.RELATED: Russia-Ukraine updates: Russian convoy nears Kyiv on day 6 of assaultFast forward just a few years, and Zelenskyy is the president of Ukraine for real.
At times in the runup to the Russian invasion, the comedian-turned-statesman had seemed inconsistent, berating the West for fearmongering one day, and for not doing enough the next.
But his bravery and refusal to leave as rockets have rained down on the capital have also made him an unlikely hero to many around the world.With courage, good humor and grace under fire that has rallied his people and impressed his Western counterparts, the compact, dark-haired, 44-year-old former actor has stayed even though he says he has a target on his back from the Russian invaders.After an offer from the United States to transport him to safety, Zelenskyy shot back on Saturday: "I need ammunition, not a ride," he said in Ukrainian, according to a senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation.Russian forces on Saturday were encircling Kyiv in the third day of the war.