This leader of Zelensky, fighting face to face with the Russian army, who became an MP at 23, has a special connection with Calcutta

New Delhi. Sviatoslav Andriiovych Yurash, the youngest member of the Ukrainian Parliament, aged 27, has seen what many people are unable to see in their entire lives. The native of Lviv in western Ukraine came to Calcutta University in 2013 to study international relations. He cut short his studies in India in 2014 to join the anti-Russian movement following the annexation of Crimea.

According to a report by the Indian Express, after returning to Ukraine from India, she became attached to comedian-turned-politician Volodymyr Zelensky. After that, at the age of 23, he became a deputy. He also fought in the trenches of Kherson, Zaporizhia and Bakhmut, as Ukraine was engaged in more than a year of war with Russia and was “ready to die” for the country.

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It’s not that the young parliamentarian doesn’t see many options for himself or his country. Yurash says, “If Russia stops fighting, there will be peace. If we stop fighting, there will be no more Ukraine. In Delhi for the Raisina Young Fellows Program organized as part of the Raisina Dialogue organized by the Observer Research Foundation and the Ministry of External Affairs, Yurash fondly recalls his time in Kolkata. He says my name Svyatoslav has always been mispronounced. That’s why my friends called me ‘Sweet Love’.

He says, “I still remember the bookstores on College Street (in Kolkata) and the street food in the city. People warned me that my stomach would get fat. I also celebrated Durga Puja in Calcutta that year. When Yurash was talking about all this, the enthusiasm was clearly visible on his face. The 6-foot-tall Ukrainian MP was 17 when he came to India from the University of Warsaw in Poland on a one-year exchange program.

He said: “I came to Kolkata in the fall of 2013 but had to come back after six months. Because the revolution was gaining momentum in a central public square in kyiv. In February 2014, pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor was ousted by protests. After which Russia annexed Crimea. Yurash was one of thousands of young people who joined the protest against Russian intervention and soon became members of the country’s politically active youth brigade.

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