Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has explained his unshaven face by way of a "superstition" and promised to rectify this upon the return of the Ukrainian military ships which were detained by Russian border guards in the Kerch Strait a year ago.

"I want to apologize for not having shaved. There is a reason for that. We have a Ukrainian word 'zabobony' [superstitions]. A purely Ukrainian word, a very cool word I am fond of. Here's a zabobon: you know, I'm waiting for the ships, [when] the ships return, then I'll shave," Zelensky told a joint press conference with the Czech prime minister in Kyiv on Tuesday.