The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, gave an interview to British journalist Piers Morgan, as reported by RBC-Ukraine. The main points concerned negotiating positions on Donbas.
In particular, Zelensky stated that following the peace negotiations in Geneva, Ukraine and russia made progress on military-related issues. However, on political matters concerning Donbas, all sides have different positions.
According to Zelensky, in the military track, the parties are closer to a result and to a document that will outline all the details of “how monitoring can or should be carried out immediately after a ceasefire”.
“On the political track, everything is more complicated. We do not have a unified position—even in the trilateral format. We have three different points of view on the issue of territories”, - the president said. He noted that in 2025, during peace talks in Saudi Arabia, the United States proposed a ceasefire, stopping along the line of contact, and resolving territorial issues through diplomatic means.
Now, the parties have “slightly moved away from that position”, when the United States spoke about the need to discuss a free economic zone. “We responded: ‘We adhere to the same American position that was proposed in Saudi Arabia… Therefore, my position is—I want to support any format so as not to stop the dialogue. But that does not mean I will accept everything’”, - Zelensky explained.
The head of state noted that russia is now proposing that Ukraine withdraw from Donbas on its own, after which the war would supposedly end. However, Kyiv cannot agree to this and will not legally recognize the territories as russian.
“We cannot simply leave. How is that even possible? This is our territory. And the part that is currently occupied is also our territory… Yes, these are temporarily occupied territories. This is very painful for us. But let’s stop where we are. And that is already a big compromise”, - the Ukrainian leader said.
In addition, Zelensky answered the question of whether he would order the killing of russian dictator putin and spoke about assassination attempts on his life.
Zelensky gave an indirect answer, the context of which suggests that it is not certain such a killing would fundamentally change anything, as it is more about an already established and entrenched system.
“You know, in their system, I am not sure that another person would not become the same putin. The same as putin. That is not the point”, - the Ukrainian president said.
At the same time, Zelensky spoke about numerous assassination attempts on his life, most of which were prevented by security services.
“I do not know how many times they tried to kill me. Security services told me about some cases. I understand that in my country, during this difficult period, this could have pushed Ukraine into chaos”, - the head of state said. He also added that Ukraine’s priority now is the army, which above all gives the ability to defend. “But there are other things as well: business that pays taxes; defense production; the energy system; water supply; the banking system; cyber defense, and much more. All of this gives Ukraine the ability to defend itself”, - Zelensky said.
The head of state also explained that in Ukraine’s system of power, the president acts as an institution that strengthens the state. Therefore, the killing of the country’s leader here could have completely different consequences.
“The reaction could be different, and russians, unfortunately, underestimate the reaction of Ukrainians. Because we, as I have always said, are emotionally different people. And after emotions and our attitude toward humanity always come values. That is why we can understand each other. We can talk to each other. We can fight, as you can see, but with different values”, - Zelensky emphasized.