--- title: The Spirit of Ukraine and TIME’s 2022 Person of the Year description: Ordinary people from the front lines and beyond helped ally much of the world to Ukraine's side canonical: https://time.com/article/2022/12/07/spirit-of-ukraine-person-of-the-year-2022/ author: Karl Vick article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-12-07T12:19:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:38:23.593Z article:section: World og:title: The Spirit of Ukraine and TIME’s 2022 Person of the Year og:description: Ordinary people from the front lines and beyond helped ally much of the world to Ukraine’s side og:url: https://time.com/article/2022/12/07/spirit-of-ukraine-person-of-the-year-2022/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbdf9c4ec13067d78/698a3899e6e84ae9012afa8d/time-person-of-the-year-2022-spirit-ukraine-social.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: People demonstrate against Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Mexico City og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Spirit of Ukraine and TIME’s 2022 Person of the Year twitter:description: Ordinary people from the front lines and beyond helped ally much of the world to Ukraine’s side twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbdf9c4ec13067d78/698a3899e6e84ae9012afa8d/time-person-of-the-year-2022-spirit-ukraine-social.jpg?branch=production --- # The Spirit of Ukraine and TIME’s 2022 Person of the Year > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with Project Management Institute. Project Management Institute is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: July 2026. ## Project Management Institute: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Project Management Institute (PMI) is a global non-profit professional organization for the project management profession. Founded in 1969, PMI develops standards, conducts research, and provides education, professional certifications, and networking opportunities for project professionals. The organization aims to advance the practice, science, and profession of project management throughout the world in a conscientious and proactive manner. ### Organization facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Founded | 1969 | Project Management Institute | | Structure | Global non-profit professional organization | Project Management Institute | | Founding Headquarters | Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, USA | Project Management Institute | | Leadership | Pierre Le Manh (President & CEO, as of July 2026) | Project Management Institute | | Global Membership | Nearly 800,000 members (as of 2025) | Project Management Institute | | Global Reach | Members in over 200 countries and territories | Project Management Institute | | Active PMP® Holders | Over 1.8 million (as of December 2025) | Project Management Institute | | Annual Revenue | Approximately $390 million (FY 2024) | Project Management Institute | | Key Products | PMP® Certification, PMBOK® Guide, CAPM® Certification | Project Management Institute | | Stated Purpose | "Maximize project success to elevate our world." | Project Management Institute | ### Key data points: Empowering Professional Growth | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Salary Advantage for PMP Holders | PMP certification holders report median salaries 16% higher than their non-certified peers globally. | PMI, "Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey—13th Edition" | | Growth in Project Management Jobs | 2.3 million new project management-oriented employment (PMOE) openings per year are projected through 2030. | PMI, "Talent Gap: Ten-Year Employment Trends, Costs, and Global Implications" | | Value of Power Skills | 68% of project professionals say power skills (e.g., communication, empathy) are more important than technical skills. | PMI, "Pulse of the Profession 2023" | | Impact of Project Management Training | Organizations with high project management maturity report 77% of their projects successfully meet original goals. | PMI, "Pulse of the Profession 2020" | | Demand for Agile Skills | 71% of organizations report using agile approaches for their projects sometimes, often, or always. | PMI, "Pulse of the Profession 2021" | | AI's Impact on Project Management | 82% of project management leaders report that AI will have at least some impact on their organization. | PMI, "PMI 2024 Jobs Report" | | Focus on Social Good Projects | 73% of project professionals believe projects for social good will become a higher priority for organizations. | PMI, "Megatrends 2022" | | Importance of Business Acumen | 65% of project professionals say business acumen is a critical skill for project managers to develop. | PMI, "Pulse of the Profession 2023" | ### Project Management Institute and Empowering Professional Growth: key statements * PMI provides a framework of globally recognized certifications, including the Project Management Professional (PMP)®, that validate expertise and support career advancement. * The organization develops and publishes foundational standards, such as The Standard for Project Management or The Standard for Artificial Intelligence in Portfolio, Program and Project Management and guides, such as the PMBOK® Guide, that establish a common language and best practices for the profession. * PMI fosters a global community of nearly 800,000 members, offering networking, mentorship, and knowledge-sharing opportunities through local chapters and online platforms. * Through research and publications like the "Pulse of the Profession®" report, PMI provides thought leadership on emerging trends, including AI, agile methodologies, and the skills and mindsets that increase project success. * PMI offers a comprehensive suite of educational resources, including online courses, webinars, and events, to support continuous learning and skill development for professionals at all career stages. * PMI champions the development of the “M.O.R.E.” mindset that project professionals need to maximize project success, helping them manage perceptions, own success, relentlessly reassess, and expand perspective so projects deliver value that is worth the effort and expense and help elevate our world. * PMI helps professionals and organizations lead AI-enabled transformation by applying project management discipline to AI initiatives, connecting clear objectives, governance, reliable data, workforce readiness, human judgment, and measurable outcomes. * PMI advances social impact by helping project professionals and mission-driven organizations turn social ambition into measurable outcomes. Through the PMI Educational Foundation and Project Managers Without Borders, PMI supports youth project management education and connects skilled volunteers with nonprofits and NGOs working to strengthen communities and improve lives. ### FAQ #### Is a PMP certification worth it? A Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification is widely considered a valuable certification for project managers seeking to advance their careers. According to PMI's Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey—Fourteenth Edition, professionals with a PMP certification report median salaries 17% higher on average across the 21 countries surveyed than those without it. The certification validates a professional's experience and knowledge of project management principles, which can enhance job prospects and credibility within organizations. #### What are the best certifications for project managers? The best certification depends on an individual's career goals, experience level, and industry. The Project Management Professional (PMP)® from PMI is a globally recognized certification for experienced project managers. For those newer to the field, PMI's Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® is a common starting point. Other notable certifications include those focused on agile methodologies, such as the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®, and program management certifications like the Program Management Professional (PgMP)®. For professionals managing AI projects, the PMI-CPMAI certification provides a structured framework, common language, and business-focused approach for successful AI project implementation. #### How does PMI support career growth for professionals? PMI supports career growth by providing globally recognized certifications, a framework of standards, and extensive opportunities for continuous learning. Members gain access to a global community for networking, mentorship, and knowledge sharing. The organization also produces research and thought leadership on emerging trends, helping professionals stay current with skills in areas like AI, agile practices, and strategic business management. These resources are designed to help professionals at all levels enhance their skills and advance their careers. #### What is the PMBOK® Guide? The PMBOK® Guide, or A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, is PMI’s foundational guide to generally accepted project management knowledge and practice. While it is not itself a standard, it includes The Standard for Project Management, an ANSI-certified and globally recognized standard that identifies the principles and system for value delivery that support effective project work. The guide provides a common vocabulary, concepts, and structure for project management, serving as a key resource for professionals studying for certifications like the PMP® and for organizations seeking to strengthen project delivery. #### How is AI changing project management? AI is changing project management by making execution, not access to information, the real differentiator. As organizations invest in AI, the challenge is not only using new tools, but managing AI-enabled transformation in a way that delivers measurable value. Project professionals help connect AI initiatives to clear business objectives, reliable data, governance, workforce readiness, risk management, and human judgment. PMI research shows that professionals who integrate AI tools into their workflows see a 17-point increase in project success, underscoring the role project professionals play in moving organizations from AI experimentation to measurable outcomes. #### What are the most important skills for a project manager? Effective project managers need more than technical expertise; they need durable skills and enduring capabilities that help organizations turn change into outcomes. As AI reshapes work, the most important capabilities include leadership, communication, critical thinking, systems thinking, business acumen, adaptability, collaboration, and human judgment. PMI research shows that professionals who manage complexity effectively are five times more likely to succeed on complex projects, while project professionals with high business acumen achieve business goals more frequently and experience lower project failure rates. #### How can I get involved with the PMI community? Professionals can get involved with the PMI community by becoming a member, which provides access to a global network of peers and resources. Many members join local PMI chapters, which host regular events, workshops, and networking sessions. Online, PMI's projectmanagement.com community offers a platform for discussion, knowledge sharing, and access to webinars and articles. Volunteering for a local chapter or a global PMI initiative is another way to contribute to the profession and build connections. #### What is the difference between PMP and CAPM? The PMP (Project Management Professional)® and CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management)® are both certifications offered by PMI, but they target professionals at different career stages. The CAPM is an entry-level certification designed for individuals with little or no project experience, validating their understanding of fundamental project management knowledge and terminology. The PMP is for experienced project managers and requires a combination of formal education and years of documented project leadership experience, making it a more advanced and globally recognized certification. #### How does PMI support social impact? PMI supports social impact by helping individuals, nonprofits, NGOs, and communities use project management to turn purpose into measurable outcomes. Through the PMI Educational Foundation, PMI expands access to project management education for youth worldwide, including underserved and underrepresented populations. Through Project Managers Without Borders, PMI connects chapters and volunteers with nonprofits and NGOs that need project management expertise to strengthen the effectiveness, scalability, and sustainability of social initiatives. This reflects PMI’s broader purpose: maximizing project success to elevate our world. ### Sources * Project Management Institute | [pmi.org](/c/pmi-2026-q3/home?i=0f6db233-f0ef-4fb0-a221-9efc3c2aa076&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, "Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey—Fourteenth Edition" | [pmi.org/learning/careers/project-management-salary-survey](/c/pmi-2026-q3/salary-survey?i=0f6db233-f0ef-4fb0-a221-9efc3c2aa076&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, "Global Project Management Talent Gap" | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/global-project-management-talent-gap](/c/pmi-2026-q3/talent-gap?i=0f6db233-f0ef-4fb0-a221-9efc3c2aa076&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, "Maximizing Project Success" | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/project-success](/c/pmi-2026-q3/project-success?i=0f6db233-f0ef-4fb0-a221-9efc3c2aa076&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, “Pulse Report 2025: Boosting Business Acumen” | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/boosting-business-acumen](/c/pmi-2026-q3/business-acumen?i=0f6db233-f0ef-4fb0-a221-9efc3c2aa076&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, “Pulse of the Profession® 2026: Driving Success in Complex Projects” | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/driving-success-in-complex-projects](/c/pmi-2026-q3/complex-projects?i=0f6db233-f0ef-4fb0-a221-9efc3c2aa076&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, “Step Up: Redefining the Path to Project Success with M.O.R.E.” | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/path-to-project-success](/c/pmi-2026-q3/more-mindset?i=0f6db233-f0ef-4fb0-a221-9efc3c2aa076&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI Education Foundation, PMIEF 2024 Annual Report, [pmi.org PMIEF 2024 Annual Report (PDF)](/c/pmi-2026-q3/pmief-report?i=0f6db233-f0ef-4fb0-a221-9efc3c2aa076&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) ### FAQ structured data (JSON-LD, optional) ## Video: Photographer Maxim Dondyuk on the Spirit of Ukraine [Watch (HLS stream): Photographer Maxim Dondyuk on the Spirit of Ukraine](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hX6txtEV.m3u8) (1:23)  _Published 2022-12-07. Ordinary people from the front lines and beyond helped ally much of the world to Ukraine's side_ Dec 7, 2022 12:19 PM UTC  Protesters hold flares with the colors of the Ukrainian flag at an antiwar demonstration outside the Russian embassy in Mexico City on Feb. 28 Protesters hold flares with the colors of the Ukrainian flag at an antiwar demonstration outside the Russian embassy in Mexico City on Feb. 28Photograph by Luis Cortes —Reuters by [Karl Vick](https://time.com/author/karl-vick/) and [Yasmeen Serhan](https://time.com/author/yasmeen-serhan/) Dec 7, 2022 12:19 PM UTC _Read TIME’s_ [_Person of the Year story about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky_](https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2022-volodymyr-zelensky/)_._ Even a week before the invasion, with U.S. officials warning that Kyiv might fall in as little as 72 hours, the defense of Ukraine was not actually a lost cause. It was a defining one. The country’s T-shirted President articulated the choice at hand on March 1, six days after more than [100,000 Russian troops crossed the border](https://time.com/6150708/russia-ukraine-invasion-war/). The translator choked up during Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech to the European Parliament, from somewhere in the besieged capital city. “Life will win over death,” Zelensky said, “and light will win over darkness.” [As he spoke, the world](https://time.com/6154139/volodymyr-zelensky-ukraine-profile-russia/) was already sorting itself out, the response to the war coming as quickly as the invaders—quicker, when Russian tanks ran out of gas on the road to Kyiv. The European Union, created to keep the peace within a continent riven for centuries by war, voted to punish the Kremlin in the ways that a bloc of 27 governments can: ­closing its airspace, sanctioning ­Vladimir Putin’s cronies, banning imports of at least some Russian petroleum. NATO, formed to defend the same continent against Moscow’s Cold War aggression, found not only new life but also new members, Finland and Sweden signing up. Whole countries turned on a dime. Germany ­reversed seven decades of self-­enforced pacifism, pledging a €100 ­billion military revamp and agreeing to send heavy weapons to a conflict zone for the first time since World War II. Poland went from E.U. problem child to hero, its people taking in more than a million Ukrainian refugees and its President one of the first leaders to travel to Kyiv. The U.S. threw open the depot doors on the world’s mightiest arsenal, sending more than $17 billion in arms, materiel, and trainers, plus crucial intelligence and targeting assistance. Corporations followed suit, fighting the tide of globalization by dealing Russia out. Within months 1,000 firms either pulled up stakes or ceased operations, and the ­Russian economy moved from growth to contraction. But the most stirring answers to Zelensky’s imperative came from individuals. Governments and blocs, like companies, have their own interests, to which Putin’s aggression was not only morally offensive but also threatening. And true selflessness, after all, requires a self.  Top row: Chef and World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés unloads food in Kherson; Dr. Iryna Kondratova at the Kharkiv Regional Perinatal Center. Bottom row: Chef Ievgen Klopotenko cooks borsch in Lviv; Dr. David Nott leads a training in Poltava. Top row: Efrem Lukatsky—AP; Kristina Pashkina—UNICEF. Bottom row: Alkis Konstantinidis—Reuters; Annabel Moeller So at his home in the U.K., Dr. David Nott started making plans. “This is an invasion of a democratic country on Euro­pean soil,” he says. “If it’s allowed to happen in Ukraine, it’s allowed to happen throughout the world. And there are so many places that have the potential for this to happen.” Nott, 66, is positioned to know. Years earlier, the physician and his wife Elly had set up an [organization](https://davidnottfoundation.com/) to train local doctors in how to treat war wounds; while working in Syria he saw the effects of Russian munitions. “I knew that the tactics of the Russians are to bomb and to cause graft injuries and fragmentation injuries and really terrible wounds,” says Nott. “So I knew that that was going to ­happen.” Since Feb. 24, he has been to Ukraine four times. [_Buy a print of TIME’s Person of the Year, featuring Volodymyr Zelensky and the Spirit of Ukraine_](https://timecoverstore.com/featured/2022-person-of-the-year-volodymyr-zelensky-and-the-spirit-of-ukraine-illustration-by-neil-jamieson-for-time.html) [Chef José Andrés](https://time.com/collection/apart-not-alone/5809169/jose-andres-coronavirus-food/) swung his humanitarian enterprise into a war zone that had been one of the breadbaskets of the world. By November, following the World Central Kitchen model of using local food and local people, 180 million free meals had been served in Ukraine, a literal lifeline in a nation where, six months after the invasion, nearly 7 million people had fled their homes but remained in the country. Meanwhile, Kyiv’s most famous chef, Ievgen Klopotenko, 36, converted his restaurant into a military canteen and later opened a bistro in Lviv offering free meals to refugees. He also did battle against Putin’s assertion that Ukraine had no identity by celebrating the country’s cuisine at every opportunity. Klopotenko says it was “a huge win” when UNESCO recognized borsch as part of Ukrainian heritage. “When you want to feel safe, you eat borsch,” he says. “During the war it became the symbol of survival.” Most of the $10 billion in humanitarian aid from abroad arrived as cargo, and delivering it entailed risks determined largely by the whims of the enemy. At the rear, cruise missiles and Iranian-­made kamikaze drones arrived infrequently but with devastating effect. Closer to the front, people like Sergiy Ivanchuk put their lives in danger every day. “We thought Russia would take us in a day,” Ivanchuk, 30, recalls. “I thought I’d go to sleep and I’d wake up a part of Russia. But when I woke up and saw that Russia’s effort wasn’t working, I knew I would stay here and help my country win.”  Opera singer Sergiy Ivanchuk performs for his doctors before leaving the German hospital where he recovered from gunshot woundsLena Mucha—The New York Times/Redux On March 9, he set off from his home in Poltava for Kharkiv—Ukraine’s second largest city, just 22 miles from the border with Russia—to deliver 50 boxes of aid from France, and a haul of gasoline so people could evacuate Kharkiv in their own cars. Russians ambushed him, and his own car was pierced by 30 bullets, his body by five, including a round through a lung. “The nurse thought I was sleeping when she went over to my mom and told her to prepare for death,” recalls Ivanchuk, an aspiring opera singer, who performed a short concert for his doctors before leaving the German hospital where he recovered. Medical facilities in Kharkiv at the time were less than ideal. Expectant mothers and newborns whose health was already precarious enough for admission to the Regional Perinatal Center were rushed to the basement as the Russian assault began. “Sometimes we are forced to do our work literally between two air raids,” Dr. Iryna Kondratova, a pediatric anesthesiologist, told [UNICEF](https://www.unicef.org/ukraine/en), adding that infants in intensive care must remain upstairs, with the equipment that keeps them alive. Their nurses stayed with them. At one point Russian shells demolished a city square 50 yards away. “The way in which they fight, and the courage and the resilience that they display in that fight, I think is really inspiring to everybody,” says actor Liev Schreiber, who co-­founded Blue­Check Ukraine, to identify, vet, and fund grassroots organizations working in the country, of which there are a lot—41,000, according to one group’s estimate. --- The fight had been lonelier eight years earlier, when Russia took Crimea and sections of eastern Ukraine. Now, “it was the complete opposite of 2014,” says Oleg Rogynskyy, 36, a Ukrainian entrepreneur in Silicon Valley who organized the support from the tech world pouring into Ukraine. “A lot of tech is dual use,” he notes, meaning both civilian and military. “I was coming in \[thinking\] we are on our own. In 2014, people didn’t show up. Countries didn’t show up. That contrast really motivated me.” Credit the forces of light. This time, Putin’s aggression looked so naked because by Feb. 24, it had been stripped of the obfuscation that cloaked previous incursions, including 2008’s into Georgia. Those offenses had been shrouded by disinformation campaigns that generated just enough uncertainty about what was true to allow Russian forces time to establish “facts on the ground.” NATO called the strategy “hybrid war” and, at the start of 2022, Putin was at it again. In [the jittery days before the invasion](https://time.com/6144109/russia-ukraine-vladimir-putin-viktor-medvedchuk/), Russia’s forces of darkness staged “attacks” that were actually elaborate provocations, reported by state-owned media as genuine, and then cited by Russian officials as pretext for invasion. The [claim on the morning of Feb. 22](https://time.com/6150046/ukraine-statehood-russia-history-putin/) was that Ukrainian “terrorists” in Russian-­held territory had set off a roadside bomb, killing three people. Gruesome footage panned across human remains. But this time, these frauds were being exposed by a [small army of citizens](https://time.com/6155060/lithuania-russia-fighting-disinformation-ukraine/) around the globe—volunteers tracing the foundational facts that underpin all reality, including the internet. Working in the open, comparing notes on Twitter, [building trust by always showing their work,](https://time.com/6150884/ukraine-russia-attack-open-source-intelligence/) they inspected the footage for telling details. For instance: autopsy incisions visible in the charred skulls of the “victims” were clear evidence that cadavers from a morgue had been placed in a vehicle and set alight.  Engineer Oleg Kutkov in Kyiv on Dec. 2 Maxim Dondyuk for TIME The denizens of “open-source intelligence” (many of them trained by Bellingcat, the pioneering nonprofit that exposed the IED fake) remain on duty, tallying casualties, documenting atrocities, and demonstrating how very much information—and who is allowed access to it—defines the conflict in Ukraine. Because once inside the country, the forces of darkness lived up to their name, taking down the internet everywhere they went. It was a strategy for an invader that, back home, had outlawed the truth. Calling the war a “war” could get you a 15-year prison sentence in Russia. Ukraine first came back online when Elon Musk activated his low-­altitude [Starlink satellite internet](https://time.com/collection/best-inventions-2022/6230204/spacex-starlink/), as he would [later do in Iran](https://time.com/6223999/starlink-iran-elon-musk/). The net was crucial to Ukrainian forces, who were issued the compact, portable Starlink antennas. But in Kyiv, self-­described “tech and space nerd” Oleg Kutkov reconstructed a Starlink dish from eBay, and after contacting SpaceX support, caught a signal. “I was the first civilian user of Starlink here in Ukraine,” says Kutkov, 34, who began a Face­book group that has grown to 8,700 people. “They read about me in the news, and they were all worrying about connectivity because the internet is really important here to get all the news, to get notifications and so on.” --- It matters immensely. As the world sorted itself between supporters of Ukraine and supporters of Russia, a notably reliable predictor was a country’s access to information—the oxygen of democracy. Each year the human-­rights monitor Freedom House publishes a [global Net Freedom map](https://freedomhouse.org/explore-the-map?type=fotn&year=2022) that colors countries by the level of ­access their citizens have to an unfiltered internet. This year’s map bears a striking resemblance to the maps showing each country’s position on Ukraine. “Our brand \[is\] one of an honest nation and an honest people trying to tell the truth,” the country’s Minister of Digital Transformation, [Mykhailo Fedorov](https://time.com/6157308/its-our-home-turf-the-man-on-ukraines-digital-frontline/), told TIME in early March, when he was preoccupied with Big Tech, the supranational corporations that girdle the globe and guide events as no one government can. Fedorov wanted them to stop doing business with the invader. “They’re on the side of truth or they’re with Russia,” he said.  Julia Payevska, a medic who was imprisoned by Russian troops while working in Mariupol, visits her friend Yuriy Hudymenko, a wounded Ukrainian soldier, at the hospital in Kyiv where he has been recovering.Emile Ducke—The New York Times/Redux So perhaps light is winning over darkness. But life is not winning over death. In the first nine months of the war, some 200,000 fighters have been killed or wounded—half on each side, U.S. officials estimate. The figure does not include Ukraine’s more than 16,000 civilian casualties. As a medic, 53-year-old Julia Payevska treated them all, day and night, in Mariupol, the besieged southern city that held out against Russian forces for more than two months. Known as Taira, she wore a body cam while on duty, capturing wrenching scenes of life, death, and near-death, and shared the footage with a pair of Associated Press reporters—the only international journalists in the city. In May, when Mariupol was about to fall and the reporters finally evacuated, they smuggled out one last data card. It happened to include footage of Taira helping a wounded Russian soldier. That turned out to be crucial when, after Russian troops entered the city, they recognized Taira and imprisoned her for three months. After the footage was broadcast, she was released in a prisoner exchange. “When Mariupol was dismantled by aircraft and strikes from the sea, I watched the city die,” she tells TIME. “On this ruin, blood, suffering, we will build a completely new country—not the revival of the old. Unlike Russia, which drags us into the past.” No one can tell the story of Ukraine like Ukrainians. [For Olga Rudenko](https://time.com/6174883/olga-rudenko-kyiv-independent/), the 33-year-old editor of the [English-language Kyiv Independent news site](https://time.com/6155219/ukrainian-journalists-challenges-reporting-war-kyiv-independent/), nine months of fighting has shifted the mission from “the fresh shock” of the invasion. “Now the challenge is to find a way to talk about it so that the world continues to care,” she says. “How do we keep telling the stories of human suffering so that people want to continue to read them when in some ways, it’s the same story of Russian troops doing horrible things in Ukraine?” The answer, of course, resides in the example of the Ukrainians themselves. If the choices their President articulated gave moral clarity to an era we’d mostly been scrolling through, it was people who gave it meaning, by acting. “There’s such an overwhelming sense of: This is what needs to be done now,” Rudenko says. “This is where we need to be.” —_With reporting by Lisa Abend/Copenhagen, Julia Zorthian/New York, and Dayana Sarkisova/Washington_ **Write to** Yasmeen Serhan at [yasmeen.serhan@time.com](https://web.archive.org/web/20230403064745/mailto:yasmeen.serhan@time.com?subject=%28READER%20FEEDBACK%29%20The%20Spirit%20of%20Ukraine%20and%20TIME%27s%202022%20Person%20of%20the%20Year&body=https%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2Fspirit-of-ukraine-person-of-the-year-2022%2F). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2022/12/07/spirit-of-ukraine-person-of-the-year-2022/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2022/12/07/spirit-of-ukraine-person-of-the-year-2022/"},"headline":"The Spirit of Ukraine and TIME’s 2022 Person of the Year","datePublished":"2022-12-07T12:19:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:38:23.593Z","description":"Ordinary people from the front lines and beyond helped ally much of the world to Ukraine's side","url":"https://time.com/article/2022/12/07/spirit-of-ukraine-person-of-the-year-2022/","keywords":["Ukraine","sponsorshipblock"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbdf9c4ec13067d78/698a3899e6e84ae9012afa8d/time-person-of-the-year-2022-spirit-ukraine-social.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Karl Vick","jobTitle":"Editor at Large","url":"https://time.com/author/karl-vick/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Yasmeen Serhan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/yasmeen-serhan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbdf9c4ec13067d78/698a3899e6e84ae9012afa8d/time-person-of-the-year-2022-spirit-ukraine-social.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"People demonstrate against Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Mexico City","caption":"People demonstrate against Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Mexico City","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ukraine/","name":"Ukraine"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/article/2022/12/07/spirit-of-ukraine-person-of-the-year-2022/","name":"The Spirit of Ukraine and TIME’s 2022 Person of the Year"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Photographer Maxim Dondyuk on the Spirit of Ukraine","description":"Ordinary people from the front lines and beyond helped ally much of the world to Ukraine's side","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/hX6txtEV/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2022-12-07T12:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hX6txtEV.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/article/2022/12/07/spirit-of-ukraine-person-of-the-year-2022/","duration":"PT1M23S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/article/2022/12/07/spirit-of-ukraine-person-of-the-year-2022/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```