Zelensky Impersonator Escapes Ukraine With Help From Fake Putin, Kim Jong-un

The look-alikes of Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un banded together to help an impersonator of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky leave Ukraine.

Howard X, an impersonator of North Korea's dictator since 2013, reached out to his Ukrainian counterpart, Umid Isabaev, after seeing bombs falling during Russia's invasion of Ukraine on the news, The Washington Post reported.

The two had never met, but they both starred in a 2020 documentary about political look-alikes on the Russian state-owned Russia 24 channel, added the outlet.

While Howard claimed he was "too fat to fight" in Ukraine, he at least "could help" Isabaev, who was famous for looking like Ukrainian President Zelensky.

"It was an unexpected proposal. There is a war on, and I didn’t know what to do next," said the 41-year-old Isabaev, who had lived in Russia for more than a decade before moving to Ukraine.

Isabaev also received offers of help from both Russians and Ukrainians while he still lived in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv during the war, but he did not know who to trust.

"[He was] followed all the time by Russian soldiers who wanted to take him to Moscow to spread propaganda negative for Ukraine," said Steve Poland, a Putin impersonator that Howard enlisted to help Isabaev leave.

Poland, whose real name is Slawomir, is known globally as "fake Putin" due to his resemblance to the Russian president. He and Howard met in 2017 when the two starred in a commercial together for the Hong Kong-based electronics company Wilson.

Since Howard, Poland and Isabaev spoke different languages, other friends had to step in to help with the translations, a report by the indy100 said. The three also had to rely heavily on Google Translate to orchestrate Isabaev's escape.

Isabaev was able to flee Ukraine and successfully cross the Polish border on March 12.

The journey took about a week, with Isabaev passing through several military checkpoints before making it to safety.

"I might have died," Isabaev said after learning that the neighborhood he left behind has since been attacked.

Poland and Isabaev later drank beer and even took selfies together following the latter's arrival.

Isabaev is currently in a "rehearsal process" in the Polish capital of Warsaw, but he declined to share more information.

The threats to them all remained, according to Howard.