Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is 45. He stood firm and chose to stay in the capital of Kyiv when Russia invaded his country. He turned to social media to express his defiance of Moscow.
To rally international support for his country, he met with leaders from Europe and the United States. He also spoke at numerous international gatherings to call for military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
He also urged countries to impose sanctions on Russia in order to force President Vladimir Putin to withdraw his forces from Ukraine.
Zelenskyy and "the spirit of Ukraine" was chosen as Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2022.
Zelenskyy also met Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio in Kyiv in March, ahead of the G7 summit in Hiroshima. He expressed his hope for Japan's active role in support of Ukraine as the chair country.