Volodymyr Zelensky

“The president can't change the country on his own. But what can he do? He can give an example.”

“Politics is not an exact science. That's why in school I loved mathematics. Everything in mathematics was clear to me.”

“I think everybody in Ukraine is so tired about Burisma. We have our own country. We have our independence, we have our problems and questions.”

“I am not a politician. I am just a simple person who has come to break down this system.”

“Honestly, Russia should want it, to give our territory, our land back to us.”

“My election only proves that the citizens are tired of the experienced politicians who over the past 28 years created a country of opportunities - opportunities to steal, bribe and loot.”

“Honoring the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, in which more than two million Ukrainian Jews died, Ukraine calls on Israel to also recognize the Holodomor as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people.”

“Chernobyl is a unique place on the planet, where nature revives after a world-wide man-made disaster, where there is a real 'ghost town.'”

“Ukraine and Israel have long-standing historical ties. Our nations have together experienced all the tragedies in recent history - the Holodomor and the Holocaust, the Second World War, and the totalitarian Soviet regime.”

“Please, please stop saying that Ukraine is a corrupt country, because from now, it's not true. We want to change this image.”

“I do not try to play a role. I feel good being myself and saying what I think.”

“I would never want Ukraine to be a piece on the map, on the chessboard of big global players, so that someone could toss us around, use us as cover, as part of some bargain.”

“I am a person who works to deadlines.”

“We are very proud of the fact that we have such a low level of anti-Semitism - such a low level of anti-Semitism in independent Ukraine, which started its life in 1991.”

“Faith is something we never discuss at the dinner table in my family, but I do believe in God.”

“When Ukrainians and Israelis speak to each other, each side respects the other.”

“I respect Israel as hugely special, especially given all the sensitivities around it. The Jews managed to build a country, to elevate it, without anything except people and brains.”

“Chernobyl has been a negative part of Ukraine's brand. The time has come to change this.”

“Let's find those people whose names do not cause controversy in our present and in our future. Let's name the monuments and streets for those people whose names do not provoke conflict.”

“There was no pressure or blackmail from the U.S. I had no idea the military aid was held up.”