Editor’s Note: As Ukraine gets set to inaugurate its sixth president on May 20, the Kyiv Post is asking Ukrainians and those with Ukrainian ancestry who live abroad to send in their pictures (horizontal mug shots, please) with answers to the following three questions for publication. Please keep responses brief — no more than 200 words for each answer or 600 words in all. Include contact details for verification as well as full name, occupation and country of residence. A selection of respondents will be published periodically before Volodymyr Zelenskiy is sworn in as president. Send responses/photos with the subject header “Ukrainian Voices From Abroad” to Kyiv Post chief editor Brian Bonner at [email protected]
Olga Zarudina is a real estate agent in Vancouver, Canada.
Kyiv Post: What do you hope for most from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy?
Olga Zarudina: I truly hope to see a very strong pro-Ukrainian and pro-European position, which will include protecting the Ukrainian language and the new Ukrainian Orthodox Church, not giving in to the eastern neighbor, and supporting the Ukrainian army by all means.
Kyiv Post: What is the No. 1 priority facing Ukraine?
Olga Zarudina: No. 1 priority is to stop the Russian aggression and revive the mighty patriotic Ukrainian spirit as it was back in 2014, and to unite all people, notwithstanding their political preferences.
Kyiv Post: What is the biggest obstacle that the new president must overcome to achieve success?
Olga Zarudina: The new president will have to convince those who did not vote for him that he has Ukraine’s best interests at heart, and to gain respect and trust from the whole population of Ukraine.
