Zelenskyy reveals secret Bankova survival bunker on war's 4th anniversary - video

In his national address marking four years of bloodshed and resistance, Zelenskyy showcased the subterranean fortress where he spent the terrifying first months of the great war. While he no longer operates from this specific bunker, hundreds of key officials initially sheltered there to keep the state functioning.

"This office, this small room in the bunker on Bankova — this is where the first conversations with world leaders took place at the start of the war," the president stated.

It was inside these concrete walls that former U.S. President Joe Biden warned of imminent danger and urged him to flee.

"I heard: 'Volodymyr, there is a threat, you need to leave Ukraine urgently. We are ready to help with this'," Zelenskyy recalled.

"And I answered that I need weapons, not a taxi."

Life in the subterranean fortress

The footage revealed the bunker's sprawling corridors, which are divided into strictly secured sectors housing the Presidential Office, the Cabinet of Ministers leadership, and the Verkhovna Rada apparatus.

In a Feb. 23 interview with AFP, Zelenskyy disclosed that he lived entirely in this underground complex for the first two years of the brutal war, though he maintained his daily work in his surface-level office.

The president admitted the immense personal toll of the relentless conflict, noting he has had zero days off, no full days with his family, and has not visited a cafe or store since the invasion began.

Meanwhile, as the Ukrainian leader walked the halls of his former wartime command center, Ukraine's Military Intelligence (HUR) earlier confirmed in May 2024 that they have pinpointed the exact locations of the deeply hidden bunkers where Russian dictator Vladimir Putin continues to hide.