Volodymyr Zelenskyy: The 2025 60 Minutes Interview

Tonight, Scott P in Ukraine with. President Voteir Zalinski. The Ukrainian president faces a critical. moment in his alliance with the United. States. In an interview this past. Friday, Wimir Zalinski invited President. Trump here to Ukraine to see how. Russia's unprovoked invasion three years. ago continues to threaten the peace of. the Western world. Zalinski is. navigating a sharp turnabout in.

Washington. The United States had been. leading NATO in arming Ukraine and. isolating Russia. But since taking. office, President Trump has praised the. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and. criticized Zalinski. This past Friday, a. Trump official met Putin in Russia about. the same time we sat down with Zinsky in. his hometown. It had been a week since. Russia killed nine children on a. playground.

The story will continue in a moment. You seem to have a real hatred of. Vladimir Putin. 100% hatred. Not even. 99.9%. Sinsky told us, "Though this. doesn't mean we shouldn't work to end. the war as soon as possible and. transition to diplomacy. But how else.

can you see a person who came here and. murdered our people, murdered children? We're inside a school bomb shelter right. now. The bomb shelter of a school.". The bomb shelter classrooms beneath the. city of Crevy were. silent. School 41 was mourning its. students killed on April 4th. Swing sets. pierced by shrapnel stood where Zalinsky.

laid his memorial to the nine children. and 10 others cut down by a Russian. missile. He asked us to look at their. faces and told us that while the great. powers endlessly debate war and peace, these children will never speak again. Mr. President, what does an atrocity. like this tell you about the progress of. the war?

It mean that we can't trust Russia. We. can't trust negotiations with Russia. Russia strikes Ukrainian cities daily. 1,700 attacks on schools, 600 children. dead, 780 hospitals and clinics. attacked, 13,000 civilians killed, and. up to 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers dead. All for Vladimir Putin's vanity war to.

expand Russia to NATO's. doorstep. Our people have paid the highest price. possible. Sinsky told us there is no. higher price. We have given all our. money, all we have in terms of finances, but most important, we gave the lives of. our people. Those were the points Solinski struggled. to make in February as President Trump.

opened negotiations with Russia and. initially excluded Ukraine. Then Trump. rewrote history, saying falsely that. Ukraine had started the war and calling. the democratically elected Zullinski a. dictator without elections. Sullinski. better move fast or he's not going to. have a country left. Got to move. got to. move fast cuz that war is going in the. wrong direction. When President Trump.

called you a dictator and said that. Ukraine started this. war, what did you think? are prevailing in the. US. How is it possible to witness our. losses and our suffering, to understand. what the Russians are doing, and to. still believe that they are not the.

aggressors, that they did not start this. war. This speaks to the enormous. influence of Russia's information policy. on America, on US politics and US. politicians. You're not in a good position. You don't. have the cards right now. And Zalinsky. told us he heard Russia's narrative from. Trump officials in that disastrous Oval. Office meeting in February. You're. gambling with World War II. Sinsky grew.

tense as President Trump said both sides. were suffering. Ukraine's people and the. Russian invasion force. It's a shift in tone, a shift in. reality. Really? Yes. A shift in. reality. And I don't want to engage in. the altered reality that is being. presented to me. First and foremost, we. did not launch an attack to start the.

war. It seems to me that the vice. president is somehow justifying Putin's. actions. I tried to explain. You can't. look for something in the middle. There. is an aggressor and there is a. victim. The Russians are the aggressor. and we are the victim. Vice President. Vance suggested that Putin could be. trusted and it was Zalinski who was. creating a false narrative. Have you.

ever been to Ukraine that you say what. problems we have? I have been to come. once. I've actually I've actually. watched and seen the stories and I know. what happens is you bring people you. bring them on a propaganda tour. Mr. President, would you invite President. Trump to Ukraine? With pleasure. Please. This Zalinski. apparently wanted President Trump to. hear in English. We want you to come and.

I think to come and to see. You think. you understand what's going on here? Okay. We we respect your position. You. understand? But please before any kind. of. decisions, any kind of formats of. negotiations. come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead.

Come look and then let's let's move with. a plan how to finish the war. You will. understand with whom you have a deal. You will understand what Putin did and. we will not prepare. anything. It will not be. theater with preparing actors in the. streets and etc. We don't do this. We. don't need it. You can go exactly where you want in any.

city which been under attacks. What I. said to them just to come and to. understand. With his invitation on its. way, he switched to Ukrainian. Does the. United States have your back? Even in this pause of mine, there's a.

problem because I want to answer. truthfully and quickly that the United. States is our strategic strong. partner. But the pause is. doubt. I don't doubt that the people of. America are with us. But in a long war, many details are. forgotten. In Europe, everyone fears. that the United States may drift away.

from Europe. Can you do without the. United States? I think without the United States, we. will suffer great losses, human and. territorial. So I wouldn't like to. consider. that this is our destiny, our land, our. life, one way or another, we will end. this war.

The US has donated about. $175 billion in aid, roughly 100 billion. of that was military, most of which was. spent in the US on manufacturing. American weapons. What would you say. that the American people have gotten for. that money? We have always believed that this is our. shared struggle, that Ukraine is. defending our shared values, that we are.

defending Europe as a whole. I can only thank the people of the. United States of America for their. support, their strong support. But the. people dying right now, with all due. respect to the US and Europe, the ones. dying right now are. Ukrainians. This is why I say that by. giving us weapons, other countries are. protecting their own people. But in the. Trump administration, US aid has all but.

stopped. Last month, the White House. announced partial ceasefires, but they. haven't happened. And now, Trump says he. is losing patience with Putin. Putin can't be trusted. I told that to. President Trump many. times. So, when you ask why the. ceasefire isn't working, this is why. Putin never wanted an end to the war.

Putin never wanted us to be independent. Putin wants to destroy us completely, our sovereignty and our people. Putin's troops occupy about 20% of. Ukraine. The 600mile front is largely. frozen. World War I trench warfare plus. drones. It's estimated that as many as. 200,000 Russian troops have been killed. What does a just peace look like to you?

To not lose our sovereignty or our. independence. We no matter what will. take back what is ours because we never. lost it. The Russians took it from us, the temporarily occupied territories. We. will not recognize as Russia those. territories that the Russians. temporarily occupy. We will bring them. back. When or how, I cannot say. But.

what we can't bring back are the human. lives. There's only one thing that can. be done. Justice. We cannot let go the issue of. justice. Those who killed must pay for. the murders. Zalinski told us any true ceasefire must. include a guarantee of Ukrainian. security. He imagines an international. peacekeeping force and would like the US.

to be part of. it. This could mean a force protecting. airspace and providing air defense which. may consist of airplanes rather than. boots on the ground. I will end the war. in Ukraine immediately. I will get it. done while. I'm president-elect. During his presidential campaign, Trump. boasted he would end the war before. inauguration. day. Instead, today, Palm Sunday,

Russian missiles struck the Ukrainian. city of Sunumi. At least 32 civilians. are dead, including another two. children. In your view, what is at stake in this. moment? Security. The security of the world is. at stake. If we do not stand firm, he. will advance further. It is not just.

idle speculation. The threat is real. Putin's ultimate goal is to revive the. Russian Empire and reclaim territories. currently under NATO protection. And the. United States being part of NATO means. it will be involved in any potential. conflict. Considering all of this, I. believe it could escalate into a world. war. A risk to the world. Yes, for the world. There won't be a.

safe place. Not a safe place for anyone.