Revealing the reason why President Zelensky’s parents refused to appear in the media

Their son may be on television every night, but the parents of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have repeatedly turned down countless requests for interviews about their private life.

The rabbi in Kryvyi Rih – eastern Ukraine, his parents’ hometown in Zelensky was much more eager to talk about Mr. Zelensky’s family.

Accordingly, Rabbi Liron Ederi shared at length with an Orthodox newspaper in Israel about his relationship with Oleksandr and Rymma Zelensky, the parents of the President of Ukraine.

The interview with Rabbi Ederi offers a rare glimpse into the lives of Mr. Zelensky’s parents, who were often shy about being exposed to the media.

The interview – published in Hebrew this week by Ktifa magazine, part of Israel’s Yated Ne’eman newspaper.

In the interview, Rabbi Ederi described Oleksandr Zelensky as a very close member of the Jewish community in Kryvyi Rih. President Zelensky’s father designed a computer class curriculum for the city’s Jewish school of about 300 students.

However, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine forced President Zelensky’s parents to leave Kryvyi Rih, Ederi said.

The city of 700,000 has largely avoided attacks in the early stages of the war, but is expected to receive more bombardment as the war shifts to eastern and southern Ukraine.

Mr. Ederi said that President Zelensky’s parents did not like the media attention given to them. Even Zelensky’s election as President of Ukraine is considered a “nightmare” for them.

“I remember when his son was elected, he complained to me, why would his son Volodymyr do that. What does Volodymyr lack in life to want to be president? Why?”, Mr. Ederi recalled Zelensky’s father’s questions.

After the election, Mr Zelensky’s parents “became even more secretive”.

“They don’t want to be famous. They don’t understand why their son needs that. They want to live quietly. A peaceful, quiet family life. Their son becoming president is more of a nightmare than a dream for them,” Ederi added.

However, according to Israel National News, the information in the interview cannot be verified by this news agency and it is not possible to know if the accounts of Rabbi Ederi are accurate or not. President Zelensky’s office did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment.