Before Johns Hopkins University graduates moved their tassels to the left on Thursday, they were sent off with a virtual livestream from a surprise commencement speaker: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Anne Applebaum, a staff writer at The Atlantic who has written extensively about the war in Ukraine and has interviewed Zelenskyy, introduced the Ukrainian leader.

It’s Zelenskyy’s first commencement speech since May 2022, three months after Russia invaded his country. In a video address to Stanford graduates, he outlined how the West can support Ukraine and urged students to pursue their passions, as many draftees into the war won’t have the chance to attend college.