The paper examines the discursive and linguistic means of appeals of the Ukrainian President V. Zelensky in 2020 to citizens on the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our analysis results suggest that in Ukraine, the rhetoric of the President's appeals demonstrates the spread of nationally oriented power mechanisms of discourse, which depend on the social context more than in highly developed countries. We compare the organization of V. Zelensky's statements about COVID-19, which are addressed to ordinary citizens and government officials. We conclude that the President appeals most to national values and symbols, transforming them into a radical national hope.