Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Johns Hopkins University’s class of 2023 at their commencement ceremony via livestream from Ukraine Thursday morning.

His appearance was a surprise for those in attendance.

In an announcement on the Johns Hopkins website, Zelenskyy accepted the invitation to speak “on behalf of his nation and in defense of democratic values that allow peace, opportunity, and freedom to flourish around the globe.”

“As a fearless champion of his nation, President Zelenskyy has shown the world what true courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds looks like,” Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels said in the announcement.

“To hear from President Zelenskyy at graduation will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Johns Hopkins students at a moment when the stakes are so high for the future of global democracy. I am thrilled that one of our era’s great democratic leaders will reinforce for them the importance of holding fast to one’s principles and meeting with fortitude and humility the challenging moments of history that they will surely face in the years ahead,” Daniels said.

The speech was broadcast on a giant screen overlooking Homewood Field, on the university’s Baltimore campus.

Zelenskyy congratulated graduates and called Johns Hopkins “one of the world’s greatest universities.”

The story continues at The Baltimore Banner: Ukrainian President Zelenskyy surprises Johns Hopkins grads as commencement speaker

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