Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave an interview to American blogger Lex Fridman. The three-hour recording is posted on the podcaster’s YouTube channel.
The conversation was conducted in Ukrainian and English, with Zelensky refusing to speak in Russian, although both he and Fridman speak it. He explained that he allegedly did not want to “give a pass to Russian President Vladimir Putin to reiterate that we are one people and speak the same language.”
The Ukrainian leader also recalled how at the beginning of the military conflict in Ukraine in February 2022 he addressed Russians in Russian, but his speech had no effect. He said:
“Since these people are deaf, I sincerely despise them.”
Zelensky added that he respects neither the leader of Russia nor its people.
Zelensky swore many times during the interview
During the interview, the head of state several times allowed himself to switch to profanity. Thus, he reacted with profanity to a question about Putin and the role of Chechnya in modern Russia. He suggested that the Russian leader does not like the constituent peoples of Russia.
The Ukrainian president also swore profanely when he recalled the Budapest Memorandum. He called the document, which guaranteed Ukraine’s security in exchange for giving up nuclear weapons, “just a piece of paper that nobody f***** (cared) about.” Zelensky also swore at the refusal of Western countries to impose preventive sanctions against Russia.
On sanctions
When it came to talking about start of the military conflict in 2022, Zelensky recalled his conversations with his Western partners. He said:
“I asked only one thing, first of all from the US – if you are sure, if you have proof, if you talk to him (Putin), he tells you that there will be an invasion, if all this scares you, I’m not asking for proof, just give me two things – strengthen us with weapons, but best of all – strengthen us with preconditions so that there will be no war. It’s not weapons first of all, it’s me asking them for sanctions. That is, intimidate him.”
The Ukrainian president also added:
“Don’t say, please, “if he comes, if he crosses the borders, if he kills, we will impose sanctions.” Well this is s*** (nonsense), sorry.”
Fridman clarified whether Zelensky was referring to the fact that Ukraine was not given help in time then. Zelensky said:
“I believe that no. We did not receive assistance. If we consider that words are aid, then we received a lot of it.”
Already after the start of the military conflict, EU countries began imposing sanctions against Russia and actively supplying arms to Kyiv.
Zelensky speculated about the possibility of negotiations
Zelensky believes that the new head of the White House Donald Trump has the highest level of trust among Ukrainians. According to him, the residents of Ukraine believe that the US President “can support Ukraine and stop Russia.”
At the same time, he refused to hold talks with Trump and Putin. He noted that he first wants to meet only with Trump, and also announced his intention to involve European politicians in the talks. He emphasised:
“I’m sure he (Trump) together with Europe can offer strong guarantees for Ukraine’s security. And then a conversation with the Russians. Only in this way, not just that we immediately sat down with the three of us.”
In addition, he noted, Ukraine will be ready for talks with Russia if NATO provides Kyiv with security guarantees. He said:
“NATO can act on the part controlled by Ukraine. Is it possible to negotiate about this? I am convinced that yes. This is not a great success for us, but if we see a diplomatic way to end the war, this is the first thing.”
Zelensky named the second condition as providing Kyiv with weapons, which should remain in the country even after the truce is concluded. He also stressed that Ukraine needs clear security guarantees from the West and only after that it will be possible to make peace with Moscow.
Zelensky drew attention to the fact that Ukraine received only half of the money promised by the US authorities. According to him, Washington was supposed to hand over a total of about 177 billion, but half of this amount never reached Kyiv. He said:
“The first question – is it corruption? The second question is it whose corruption?”
Zelensky assessed the influence of the family on participation in future elections
Zelensky responded to Fridman’s question about whether he will go for a second term of presidency. He called the question complex and noted that plans to run for a second term depend on how the conflict ends, as well as on specific people. He said:
“First of all – from my family. For now, it is inappropriate to talk about elections until the conflict is over.”
Following the interview, Fridman shared his impressions of the conversation with the President of Ukraine. He noted that the conversation with the head of state was rich and heartfelt. The blogger explained that with the help of this interview he wanted to “contribute to the promotion of peace.”
However, many analysts noted that such statements were an unacceptable norm of modern diplomacy and condemned the Ukrainian president’s foul language.
