KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had no time to hold a traditional news conference during a whirlwind, 36-hour trip across Europe this week, so he improvised.

For the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion of his country, Zelenskyy — who usually takes reporters’ questions in person while trotting the globe — communicated with the news media via group chat. While flying between London and Brussels, he answered a long list of questions from Ukrainian and international reporters, relaying audio clips on WhatsApp.

His chosen mode of communication was, if not unprecedented, at the very least extremely rare for a world leader.

The low drone of the aircraft blended with his hoarse, tired-sounding voice, yet his message cut through clearly: Amid uncertain negotiati

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