I'm Arthur Snell, and this is Doomsday World.

Welcome back to the last of our new year specials as we gear up for a new season which is coming soon.

Today we go behind the headlines on the unquestioned man of the year of 2022.

Of course, you know I'm talking about Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

You know that the truth is on our side though, it's on the command that you will come.

Because it's our land and it's our people.

Thanks for joining me for another Doomsday Watch special, a conversation with author and journalist Stephen Derrick's.

Written alongside Marina Schelkenova, his book, Zelensky Ukraine's President and his country,

is one of the first biographies to chart the remarkable rise of Ukraine's President

from comedian to war leader.

And stay tuned at the end to hear how you can gain early access to a new series of Doomsday Watch coming soon.

Before that, who is the real Zelensky? Let's find out.

Stephen, welcome. Hello.

It almost goes without saying that Zelensky is the man of the year.

He's been a heroic war leader. People compare him to Winston Churchill and to other figures throughout history.

But of course, his backstory is so unexpected of a comedian.

He was involved with light entertainment. He wasn't somebody who you would expect to reach this point.

So before we really go into all of that, what was your first brush with Zelensky?

How did you come to be aware of him?

I was actually covering his election campaign in 2019.

And I remember that I was on the road doing a reputage about, I think, extensive chicken farming.

Somewhere on the road in Ukraine, we were listening to the epic debate that he had with the then President of Poroshenko,

...