Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s heroic leadership has won him a legion of fans around the world as he joins his soldiers on the battle field to fend off Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
But the ex-comedian turned national leader’s bravery is not the only thing that has tongues wagging.
Amorous fans have flocked online to share photos of the president – with both women and men swooning over his good looks.
‘Am I the only girl swooning for President Zelensky? His fearless passion is sooo hot,’ one woman tweeted.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured) has drawn widespread praise for staying to fight Russian invasion with his countrymen
‘Sorry if this is inappropriate, but… I never noticed before – Zelensky is hot,’ another said, adding ‘standing up to Russian aggression really brings out his eyes’.
‘I haven’t wanted to mention it because it’s not important but Zelensky looks hot as hell,’ someone else wrote.
‘Is Volodymyr Zelensky kind of hot?’ one man wrote.
‘He looks sleepy, but he’s watching his country collapse. Get some sleep and wake up next to him with his compact body and those eyes?’
‘Imma say it. Zelensky is hot,’ a fifth wrote.
Many argued the politician was already attractive but is now ‘off the charts’ after his recent displays of courage and determination.
‘Zelensky was already the hottest world leader (close between him and [Canadian Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau),’ one man wrote.
‘Homie is off the charts hot now.’
Amorous fans have flocked to Twitter to weigh in on the president’s sex appeal as he defends the capital Kyiv with his soldiers
One man suggested the world was supporting Ukraine because of Zelensky’s good looks
Another countered: ‘Zelensky has MUCH more sex appeal than Trudeau. He should take up his rightful place as the world leader sex icon.’
As of Sunday, Zelensky, who has repeatedly refused Western offers to evacuate him and instead vowed to defend the capital Kyiv with his soldiers, has become a top trend on Twitter featuring in more than 1.23 million tweets.
The 44-year-old, a former actor and comedian who had no political experience before his landslide democratic victory in 2019, is being hunted by Putin’s attack dog army of special forces who have a list of Ukrainian officials to capture or kill.
On Friday, President Zelenskyy shared a video of himself in Kyiv to shoot down rumours he had fled the country, and claimed he was is ‘target number one’ for Russian assassins, while his wife and children were ‘number two’.
His wife Olena, 44, and two children, aged 17 and nine, are also in hiding – but still in the country – amid fears the Kremlin wants to wipe out or imprison Ukraine’s entire political class.
Ukrainian servicemen ride on tanks toward the front line with Russian forces in the Lugansk region of Ukraine on Friday
President Zelensky later shared footage of himself and other senior members of his party walking the streets of Kyiv as they prepared to fight Russian troops.
He has been widely praised for staying to fight instead of leaving his nation as Russians have launched multiple attacks across the east, north, and south, since Thursday.
US President Joe Biden offered to evacuate the Ukrainian President out of his country to safety, but he declined, arguing he needed to stay and protect his land and people, responding: ‘I need ammunition, not a ride’.
Ukrainian troops held off an invasion of Kyiv overnight as Russian forces renewed their assault under the cover of darkness, pounding the capital with artillery and cruise missiles.
‘We will fight as long as it takes to liberate the country,’ President Zelensky said in an video address on Saturday night.
He said a baby girl was born Saturday night in the Kyiv subway tunnels, which are being used as a bomb shelter.
‘If children are born in shelters, even when the shelling continues, then the enemy has no chance,’ he said. ‘To Victory! Glory to Ukraine!’
A Ukrainian soldier runs holding his weapon outside a military facility, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 26, 2022
A fragment of a destroyed Russian tank is seen on the roadside on the outskirts of Kharkiv on February 26, 2022
Vladimir Putin addresses the nation on the recognition of independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics
Air raid sirens and heavy weapons fire reverberated through the city, as Ukrainian soldiers and civilian volunteers dug in to repel warmonger Vladimir Putin’s forces.
President Zelensky has pledged to ‘destroy the occupiers’ and the residents of Kyiv appear to have fully mobilised for a fight to the death.
As they hunkered down in air raid shelters, teams of civilians worked through the night making Molotov cocktails to use against the Russian forces.
Ukraine says more than 100 of its civilians and more than 1,000 Russian troops had been killed on the invasion’s second day.
An estimated 100,000 Ukrainians have fled their homes, with many trying to cross into neighbouring countries, mainly Moldova and Romania.
Despite holding inferior military power, Ukraine has put up an incredible fight against Russia, with experts saying the bigger nation will run out of cash and arms if Kyiv holds out for 10 days after countrymen destroyed invaders’ conveys.
A screen grab from drone footage shows cars forming a line that stretches some 35 km from the Shehyni border crossing to Poland as people try to flee Russia’s military operation against Ukraine outside Mostyska, Ukraine, February 26, 2022
Germany has pledged to send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 missiles to help Ukraine while Australia will provide non-lethal military and medical aid to Ukraine through NATO.
The US and its allies have also vowed to remove Russian banks from the SWIFT network as the international community continues to slap Russia with sanctions.
Australia is seeking advice about sanctioning Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, with sanctions on eight Russian oligarchs close to Putin and 339 members of the Russian parliament signed off overnight.
Key figures of the Belarusian government who have abetted Russia and the invasion will also be targeted.
