‘Putin has been toppled’: Surreal moment from Ukraine president’s sitcom days

Russia-Ukraine war: Comic-turned-president Volodymyr Zelensky is leading his country amid an invasion from a much more militarily powerful neighbour.

“Putin has been toppled”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, an actor before he entered politics, said in a 2015 show. Forward to 2022, a video of that moment has acquired new significance as Ukrainians fight to defend their country in the wake of a Russian invasion.

Twitter users are widely sharing and discussing the “surreal” clip in the present context.

The video is from Servant of the People, a political satire in which Volodymyr Zelensky plays a high school teacher who unexpectedly becomes president after a video of his rant against corruption in Ukraine, posted online by his students, becomes viral.

Another surreal clip from "Servant of the People": in this one, Zelensky yells "Putin has been toppled!" (via @andrejfnovak) pic.twitter.com/qmaolIe45O

— Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) March 2, 2022

The clip shows Zelensky’s character walking into the parliament to see a group of representatives involved in a scuffle. To get their attention, he yells “(Vladimir) Putin has been toppled” in Russian and they turn around in astonishment.

Then, he clarifies that it was a joke, according to a translation provided by The Independent. “There was just no other way to stop you,” he added.

Follow today's updates on the Russia-Ukraine war

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The clip was tweeted by Time magazine journalist Vera Bergengruen. She also shared another video from the TV series showing Zelensky's character receiving a call from former German chancellor Angela Merkel, telling him that Ukraine has been accepted into the European Union. The video has over 7 million views on  Twitter.

The character's joy soon turns into disappointment as Merkel says she meant to call Montenegro.

In response to the "Putin has been toppled" video,  Andrej Novjak, an Eastern Europe expert, said: "That's what I am waiting for even more the the EU (European Union) perspective and candidate status for Ukraine, which I have lobbied for for years." 

Have you seen the scene where he comes into a chaotic Ukrainian parliament and screams:

"Putin’s been toppled!"
(In Russian, no less!)

That's what I am waiting for even more the the #EU perspective & candidate status for #Ukraine, which I have lobbied for for years.

— Andrej Novak (@andrejfnovak) March 2, 2022

Others described the videos as "unbelievably surreal".

“May God protect this man (Zelensky) and the Ukrainian people," said Twitter user Jonathan Reiber. 

Unbelievably surreal.

May God protect this man and the Ukrainian people.

— Jonathan Reiber (@jonathanreiber) March 2, 2022

Russian forces have continued to bomb Ukrainian cities for over a week. There are conflicting reports about the number of casualties. The United Nations has registered 227 civilian deaths, news agency AFP reported.

Since February 24, over a million people are reported to have fled Ukraine.

(With inputs from AFP)