Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska Says Her Marriage To Volodymyr Zelensky Is ‘On Pause’ Due to War

Ukraine‘s first lady said her marriage is “on pause” since the war with Russia began.

Olena Zelenska told CNN Tuesday that her relationship with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has gone through significant change as the conflict between countries continues.

The presidential pair are not allowed to see each other for long periods of time. When they can see each other, it is only for a short time.

“It’s not a normal relationship when children cannot see their father and have to talk to him on the phone. So our relationship is on pause just as it is for all Ukrainians,” she added.

Both the president and the first lady refused to leave the country when Russia began its operations on February 24. For the first two months of the war, Zelensky lived in his office with staff while his wife and children, aged 17 and 9, were in a secret location.

“We are waiting to be reunited, to be together again, to spend evenings together, to talk to the children about their things,” she said.

Mrs. Zelenska (Ukrainian women have feminized last names in their lanuage) previously discussed living in separation from her husband. “We say goodbye to each other the very first day. And over the next two months, we only had a chance to speak via the phone,” she said.

The ongoing war has moved away from the capital, Kyiv, and has grown into the eastern Donbas region. Mrs. Zelenska said she currently “cannot see the end of our suffering.”

“It’s very difficult to hold on for five months,” Zelenska said. “We need to accumulate our strength, we need to save our energy.”