The Ukrainian president has led his country to the most difficult period in its modern history, earning international acclaim for its composure in directing an exhausting defense of Ukraine from its much larger neighbor. He refused to leave Kyiv throughout the war, taking refuge in his presidential palace as the bombing rained down on the capital. But the presidential complex was not always a safe place for the Ukrainian leader, as interviews with Time magazine reveal how the palace had to be turned into a fortress as soon as the invasion began. Simon Schuster spent a fortnight in the band this month and heard how Mr. Zelensky’s wartime leadership came to an end within the first few hours of the invasion. The president said his memories of the early hours of the war – before the dawn of February 24 – were “fragmented”, but some episodes stood out. He remembers when he and his wife Olena went early that morning to tell their children that the bombing had begun. Their daughter is 17 and their son nine. Speaking from his presidential office, Mr Zelensky said: “We woke them up. It was loud. “There were explosions there.” It soon became clear that he was in personal danger. The president was informed that Russian strike groups had parachuted into Kyiv to kill or arrest him and his family. “Before that night, we had only seen such things in the movies,” said Andriy Yermak, the president’s chief of staff. Residents of Kiev at a train station on the first day of the Russian invasion (AFP / Getty) The presidential guard began to seal the band with whatever he could find. A rear gate was blocked by police barricades and plywood and is said to have looked more like a pile of scrap than a fortification. Mr. Schuster said that by the time of his visit the complex had been turned into a maze by checkpoints and roadblocks that burned down the surrounding streets. Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, rushed to the presidential palace on the first morning of the war, driving through the city under fire. His role means that he would take over the administration of the country if the president was assassinated. He was one of the first to see Zelensky in the office that first day. “It was not fear on his face,” he told Time. A woman and a child are walking in a residential area of ​​Kiev on the second day of the invasion (AFP / Getty) “It was a question: How could that be?” The president had spent the year up to that point downplaying warnings that Russia was planning to invade. When the troops were sent, he was quick to dwell on what had happened. That night, Russian troops made two attempts to invade the compound, Oleksiy Arestovych, a veteran of Ukraine’s military intelligence service, told Time. Ammunition broke out near the palace, and guards supplied Zelensky and his assistants with bulletproof vests and rifles – although only a few knew how to handle the weapons. Roads around the presidential palace have been blocked (AP) “It was an absolute madhouse,” Arestovych said. “Automatically for everyone.” The following night, Mr Zelensky clarified his intention to remain in office, rejecting offers from Britain and the United States to evacuate. His bodyguards also thought he should leave the band, but the president insisted on staying and that night recorded the first of his famous video messages in the palace courtyard. At that moment, the Ukrainian leader acknowledged his role in the war. “You know they’re watching,” he told Time. “You are a symbol. “You have to act as the head of state should.”