Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a surprise commencement address to graduates from Johns Hopkins University on Thursday morning.
Zelensky appeared via livestream and also received an honorary doctorate degree from the university’s president at the commencement, the Baltimore Sun reported.
“One of the most common truisms on Earth is the advice to value or at least not waste time,” Zelensky said in the address, adding, “Every person eventually realizes that time is the most valuable resource on the planet, not oil or uranium, not lithium or anything else, but time.”
Zelensky compared the Johns Hopkins graduates to those fighting on the front lines in Ukraine, noting many are of a similar age and have also completed or plan to complete their education.
“They and you have similar hopes for life, similar expectations from life,” he said. “But there is fundamental difference that comes down to the question of time.”
“The time of your life is under your control,” Zelensky continued. “The time of life of our folks on the front line, the time of life of all Ukrainians who are forced to live through this terrible Russian aggression, unfortunately is subject to many factors that are not all in their control.”
The Ukrainian president added he is proud his country is “not losing a single day” in its fight against Russia.
“All of our tomorrows, and the tomorrows of our children and grandchildren, depends on each of our todays,” he later said.