Ukraine’s first lady tells the U.S. Congress that ‘Russia is destroying our people.’
Ukraine’s first lady met her future husband, Volodymyr Zelensky, when they were still students at different universities in their hometown, the industrial city of Kryvyi Rih. She later became a script writer at Kvartal 95, the production company that Mr. Zelensky founded before he traded comic acting for the presidency — and then became a wartime president.

Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ms. Zelenska, 44, focused on issues of female empowerment, literacy and culture in Ukraine. But the war has thrust her into the global spotlight. In recent weeks, she has stepped forward more on social media, and has used her profile to raise awareness about Russian crimes against children and older citizens.

During her speech, she also described a 4-year-old girl killed in the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia, in a missile attack that left 25 people dead; a 5-year-old who died in a shopping mall attack; and a 3-year-old boy who lost his legs and is learning to use a prosthesis.

She asked members of Congress for more weapons, including air defense systems, before they leave for their August recess, so that “our kids are not going to be killed.”