The vodka was launched today in the UK
(Picture: Katy Thompson/vodka Zelensky)A vodka named after Ukraine’s defiant President Volodymyr Zelensky has been launched in the UK.
Vodka Zelensky’s profits will be dedicated to providing ongoing aid for Ukraine as the country continues its defence against Russia.
In a striking show of support, the bottle features a silhouette of Ukraine’s iconic president in front of the country’s blue and yellow flag, accompanied with the Twitter hashtag “drink for peace”.
As well as donating all profits to Ukraine until 2026, £5 per bottle will also go towards selected non-governmental organisations in Ukraine.
Each bottle costs £29.90.
The bottle and campaign was created by fashion designer Anastasiia Rosinina, who fled Kyiv in March, and Swiss entrepreneur Dr Tobias Reichmuth.
Dr Reichmuth joined forces with his long-term friend in order to get out of the “powerless feeling” he had as he watched Russian forces wreak havoc across the country.
“Through Anastasiia, with whom I have been friends for six years, the war came to my mobile phone almost live,” Dr Reichmuth said.
“As an entrepreneur, I asked myself how to get out of this powerless feeling and take action.”
With many across the world turning their back on the famous Russian product, the team took just eight days to design and launch the bottle.
Georgia von Gleichen, also a member in the founding team and whose mother is a refugee from former Czechoslovakia, proudly revealed the group has already accumulated £30,000 since it launched.
She said: “We built the company in only eight days and could already donate close to £30,000 to a children’s hospital in Kyiv and a humanitarian organisation helping low income UIkrainians with children.”
The vodka itself is premium wheat-based quality made and distilled in Germany and Switzerland.
It aims to sell one million bottles this year.
Already the new vodka is being sold in Switzerland, Germany and now the UK - with more countries to follow soon.
