Interview Summary: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

The human cost of the war

• Zelenskyy describes life during the war as exhausting and emotionally painful. He says he rarely sleeps, often coordinating with air-defense teams overnight.
• The deaths of children and soldiers’ family members are especially difficult for him. He recalls grieving with parents who have lost children and says he does not hide his emotions.
• His children help keep him grounded, and he tries to set an example of courage without pretending not to feel pain. He says the war has made family relationships and time together more precious.

The invasion and Ukraine’s defense

• Zelenskyy says Ukraine’s war with Russia began in 2014, with Russia’s occupation of Crimea and fighting in eastern Ukraine; the full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022.
• He recalls waking his family, telling them he loved them, and going to work. As Russian forces advanced toward Kyiv, he rejected evacuation, telling President Biden: “I need ammunition, not a ride.”
• Ukraine’s forces and volunteers mobilized rapidly. Zelenskyy says the country’s army grew from roughly 200,000 to around 800,000, helping repel Russian troops from Kyiv and surrounding areas.
• He attributes Russia’s failure to capture Kyiv to Ukrainian resistance and Russia’s misjudgment of the scale of that resistance—not simply a wrong turn. The battle for Hostomel Airport was among the crucial engagements.

Bucha and the demand for justice

• Zelenskyy calls the discovery of murdered and tortured civilians in Bucha his hardest wartime experience. He says he went there and brought journalists to witness the evidence.
• He argues that calls for compromise must account for the victims and their families. A ceasefire would already be a major compromise, he says, but lasting peace also requires a credible path to justice.
• He says grief and anger cannot simply be erased or people forced to forgive.

His background and path to the presidency

• Born in Soviet-era Ukraine and raised after independence, Zelenskyy says his family was ordinary and not wealthy. He credits his parents with giving him love, education, and strong values.
• He studied law but gravitated toward media, working as a comedy writer and performer before founding a media company. He also won Ukraine’s Dancing with the Stars and voiced Paddington Bear in Ukrainian.
• He starred in the television series Servant of the People, playing a teacher who unexpectedly becomes president. The series’ popularity and Ukraine’s political climate contributed to his move into politics, he says, though he denies it was a calculated plan.

Zelenskyy’s view of Russia’s motives

• He describes Russia’s invasion as an effort to restore imperial control and prevent Ukraine from choosing its own future, including closer ties with Europe.
• He says Putin’s claims about “liberating” Ukraine from fascism are particularly offensive given Ukraine’s history of Nazi occupation and the deaths of many of Zelenskyy’s relatives in World War II.
• Zelenskyy says Russia underestimated Ukraine by treating it as an extension of Russia rather than an independent nation with a strong will to resist.

The current situation and prospects for peace

• Zelenskyy says Russia occupies Crimea and parts of eastern and southern Ukraine, while continuing missile and drone attacks across the country.
• He warns that withdrawing from Ukrainian defensive positions without reliable security guarantees could expose more cities to attack.
• He opposes President Trump’s claim that Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy facilities are driving U.S. diesel prices. Zelenskyy says the strikes are retaliation for attacks on Ukraine’s power grid and has proposed an energy ceasefire.
• He says Trump could help bring Putin to negotiations, but that a durable settlement requires security and justice—not merely a pause in fighting.
• He closes by expressing gratitude to the United States and wishing Americans peace, stability, and the chance to live ordinary family lives.