When Vladimir Putin launched an onslaught on Ukraine almost three months ago, Olena Zelenska and her two children became prime targets for Russian forces and went into hiding as a result.
Since then, this is the first time Volodymyr Zelensky and the first lady, who have been married since 2003, have been pictured together.
The presidential couple attended the funeral of Leonid Kravchuk, the first president of Ukraine, who died over the weekend at the age of 88, after a ‘long illness’.
Dressed in all-black, the Zelenskys joined other officials, including mayor of Kyiv Vitaly Klitschko, at the ceremony in the capital.
The two laid flowers at the coffin of Ukraine’s former leader and expressed their condolences to his family.
Looking calm and stoic, the pair did not hold hands or display any other affection towards each other, but pictures showed them always standing side by side in support.
It is unclear exactly when the first lady returned to Kyiv, but they spent weeks separated.
This comes after Ms Zelenska made her first public appearance in months earlier in May when she was pictured with Jill Biden in Ukraine during an unannounced visit.
According to the White House, the two first ladies had been exchanging letters for weeks and wanted to finally meet face-to-face.
Ms Biden became the latest high-profile American to enter the war-torn country.
‘I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop and this war has been brutal and that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine,’ she told her counterpart.
In an interview with Vogue Ukraine in April, Ms Zelenska revealed she and her husband had already ‘discussed everything’ with their daughter Oleksandra, 17, and son Kyrylo, nine, before the war started.
‘There is no need to explain anything to children,’ she told the magazine. ‘They see everything, as does every child in Ukraine.
‘Surely, this is not something that children should see – but children are very honest and sincere.
‘You can’t hide anything from them. Therefore, the best strategy is the truth.’
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