As Russian forces advanced closer and closer to the heart of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy knew his days could be numbered.
On a video call with other European leaders, he signed off with a haunting farewell.
"This may be the last time you see me alive," he said, according to sources who spoke to the Wall Street Journal.
He had good reason to believe his life was in danger.
A chilling picture was emerging from Western intelligence agencies about Russia's plans for Ukraine's young leader, which he shared with his people in a video he shot on the streets of Kyiv.
"The enemy has marked me as target number one, my family as target number two," Mr Zelenskyy said, dressed in khaki and flanked by his officials.
"They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of the state."
Despite the threat, Mr Zelenskyy reportedly declined an offer from the US for help in evacuating, instead vowing to stay with his people.
His wife, Olena Zelenska, their 17-year-old daughter Sasha and nine-year-old son Kyrylo have also stayed put, even though they may be second on Russia's hit list.
"I will not have panic and tears," Ms Zelenska wrote on Instagram shortly after the invasion.
"I will be calm and confident.
The plan to eliminate Ukraine's first family
While the first lady and her children are hiding somewhere in Ukraine, Mr Zelenskyy appears to be staying in the heavily fortified government district of Kyiv.
Amid fears of assassination attempts, all buildings in the area are surrounded by Ukrainian security forces in full battle gear.
Ukraine says Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov — sometimes described as Vladimir Putin's "dragon" — sent in an elite squad to kill Mr Zelenskyy in early March.
"We are well aware of the special operation that was to take place to eliminate our President," said Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council.
"The Kadyrov elite group was destroyed."
Ukraine's government says this was just one of a dozen foiled plots to murder Mr Zelenskyy.
"We have a very powerful network of intelligence and counterintelligence," presidential adviser Mikhail Podolyak said.
"They track it all, and all these groups are being liquidated."
With his family in a safer part of Ukraine, Mr Zelenskyy only communicates with them by phone.
"As every woman in Ukraine, now I fear for my husband," Ms Zelenska wrote in a series of messages sent through intermediaries to ABC America.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Olena Zelenska did not expect this life.
The couple, who came together as comedians, hardly expected to enter politics — much less lead a nation through war and dodge assassination squads.
But even as entertainers, they displayed a deep love for their nation, which would eventually take them on a different path.
A love forged in comedy
His work experience as a fictional TV president is now a well-loved piece of trivia about the Ukrainian leader, but it was also comedy that brought him and his wife together.
Despite both growing up in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih and attending the same high school, it wasn't until university that Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Olena Kiyashko.
She was studying architecture when she bumped into a charismatic young law student dreaming of a comedy career.
Mr Zelenskyy later asked Ms Kiyashko to come on board as a writer for his comedy troupe, Kvartal 95 (named after the neighbourhood in Kryvyi Rih where they lived), and they started dating.
They built a life together, marrying in 2003 and raising two children, while working side by side on various sketches and TV shows, including political comedy Servant of the People.
Mr Zelenskyy has spoken of his admiration for Ms Zelenska's calm confidence and appreciation for her unwavering support, while she often publicly praises her husband's determination and strength.
In a happy snap from her Instagram in 2021, she described her sweetheart as "almost everything I need for happiness".
The couple work in tandem, with Mr Zelenskyy at home in front of the camera while Ms Zelenska prefers to beaver away behind the scenes.
"My husband is always on the forefront, while I feel more comfortable in the shade. I am not the life of the party," she told Ukrainian Vogue for her November 2019 cover issue.
It was the political instability and Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 that drove them both to take a step up from satirising those in power.
"That's when we decided to do something, to save our democracy. When TV channels one by one fell under the leadership's control, we realised if we didn't act, we'd end up in the same situation as Russia," Ms Zelenska told The Daily Beast.
In 2018, Kvartal 95 registered a real political party with the same name as the television show. And on New Year's Eve, Mr Zelenskyy announced he was running for president — something Ms Zelenska has joked that she found out about on social media.
"I am a non-public person. But the new realities require their own rules, and I'm trying to comply with them," she told Vogue.
The once-shy, softly spoken first lady has found a reason to step into the spotlight.
From her hiding spot, Olena Zelenska is advocating for Ukraine
Now holed up at a secret bunker with their two children, Ms Zelenska is using her new-found platform to drum up support for Ukrainians fleeing the war.
"Most Ukrainians saw Olena Zelenska just as the wife of the comedian who was their President. But now they are comparing her with (former US first lady) Michelle Obama," close friend Ievgen Klopotenko told The Telegraph.
She has been sharing almost daily posts with her 2.7 million Instagram followers, detailing the realities of war and calling for help on the humanitarian front from diplomats and world leaders.
Leaning on her counterparts overseas, Ms Zelenska recently called on the first ladies and gentlemen of the world to do their part.
"What can you do? I am replying on behalf of Ukraine — over three million Ukrainians forced to flee have already arrived in your countries," she wrote.
"These are women and children whose husbands and parents made a conscious decision to stay in Ukraine to fight.
"They have lost their homes, they have seen bomb shelters and death, they barely get any sleep at night worrying about loved ones and their future as a whole. Please keep them warm."
France's Brigitte Macron was among the first to respond, helping to secure the safe passage of 20 children out of Ukraine to France in order to safely continue their cancer treatment.
"I want to thank all Europeans who are now helping our people, giving them homes, feeding them, encouraging them … like us, you weren't prepared for having so many traumatised people in your country," Ms Zelenska wrote in Le Parisien newspaper.
"But the way you have reacted is worthy of a collective Nobel Peace prize. Ukrainians are marvellous people and very grateful. Our children will never forget what you have done for us."
Though she may never have imagined the nightmare scenario now playing out across her country, she has been preparing for this role from day one as first lady.
In a message for the charity concert Save Ukraine that was broadcast internationally over the weekend, she urged people around the world: "Do not get used to the war."
"Because in the 21st century, Europe cannot get used to children falling asleep to the sound of shells and not knowing whether they will be alive tomorrow," she said.
"You can't get used to the mass graves that peaceful cities are turning into. The war in Ukraine is a war on the doorstep of your home.
"Stay open, stay responsive. Stay on the side of peace and humanity. Then the victory of Ukraine will be your victory."
