Volodymyr Zelensky approached a lectern under bright lights, preparing to deliver a message to the Ukrainian people, writes CNN.
"Today I will start with the long-awaited words, which I want to speak with pride", he said.
"Finally", he continued. "Ukraine is united... This is our victory."
The speech was fiction. It's from the closing scene of "Servant of the People," a satirical TV show about a down-on-his-luck high school teacher played by Zelensky.
Acting didn't just make Zelensky a star. It served as a springboard for his real-life presidential campaign. In April 2019, within a month of the show ending, the comedian-turned-politician was elected president of Ukraine.
also
The war changed the Ukrainian leader, but it's time for him to transform again
Zelensky again found himself in front of a pulpit on Friday, but this time in a different way after Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Thursday.
The battle for the capital, Kiev, continued on Friday. Explosions lit up the sky as the Kremlin targeted the city with pre-dawn rocket attacks, forcing people into shelters.
In his televised speech on Friday morning, Zelensky was again a man in character. Wearing a dark green T-shirt with dark circles under his eyes, the Ukrainian president struck a defiant tone and praised the country's armed forces for "excellent defense of the country".
"Now is an important moment," Zelensky said. "The fate of our country is being decided".
The Russian invasion of Ukraine began early Thursday. Moscow's forces attacked by land, sea and air, prompting international sanctions.
Putin said the military operation was necessary after the US and its allies crossed Russia's "red lines" by expanding NATO eastward.
Zelensky again on Friday called for direct talks.
also
Second front for Zelensky: Ukraine secretly begins preparations for elections
The Kremlin said Russia was ready to participate in the Minsk talks.
Ukraine's democratically elected government remains intact, but Putin has made clear this week that he does not see Ukraine as a legitimate sovereign state. On Friday, he called on Ukrainians to oust Zelensky themselves.
"Take the power into your own hands. It seems that it will be easier for us to come to an agreement with you that this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis is located in Kiev and has taken Ukrainians hostage."
Putin and his government have repeatedly made baseless and inaccurate claims that the democratically elected Ukrainian government is a "fascist" or "Nazi" regime. Zelensky is Jewish and members of his family died in the Holocaust.
His comments are unlikely to spark any kind of uprising in Ukraine. This is considering that the last pro-Russian leader in Ukraine was overthrown in a popular uprising in 2014.
Zelensky was elected five years later, defeating President Petro Poroshenko. Zelensky's campaign promised an end to the war in eastern Ukraine and an end to corruption, both of which have not been fulfilled.
But the danger Zelensky faces is no longer only political.
also
Personalities of 2022: Volodymyr Zelenskyy – Guardian of Europe
US officials have said that Russian forces that entered Ukraine through Belarus are 20 miles from Kiev. And intelligence has said they are concerned the city could fall under Russian control. The spokesman of the State Department, Ned Price, has said that Zelensky remains "the main target of Russian aggression", while Zelensky himself has said that Russia has targeted him as "target number one".
"They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state," he said.
