President Zelenskyy: It's Time To Tell You The Truth About The War! They Found 500 Bodies!

President Zalinski, how are you doing? >> Well, it's hard. >> Uh, I'll be honest. I uh don't sleep. It's a huge, terrifying pain that I. wouldn't wish on anyone. >> I can see the tears in your eyes. >> Yeah. >> The war started February 24th of 22. I. didn't think there would be a full-scale. invasion. I was with my family, told my.

wife that to the kids the war has. started. I love you, I'll call you and. ran up. >> Satellite imagery captured a massive 64. km long Russian military convoy leading. to Kiev. >> And just imagine 200,000 people are. coming at you. It's simply impossible to. defend. Missiles were raining down on. your head. Those were absolutely. horrifying moments. And I was in the. bunker built right inside my office. Biden called me. We are ready to help. you evacuate.

>> What did you say to Biden? >> I need ammunition, not a ride. They. expected people to run and me. I. couldn't abandon the people. And then. people showed up as volunteers and our. army grew from 200,000 to an army of. 800,000. Day after day, we pushed back. harder. >> What was your hardest day through the. last four years? >> We liberated BHA. I went there. Dead. bodies lying everywhere. kids, adults, elderly people, chopped meat, butchered.

them, hands tied, tortured, and then. buried in in in pits. When you see a. mass today finding a grave in the US or. in Britain, God forbid, with 500. tortured people, how do you forgive? And. that's why when President Trump says we. need to find a compromise, well, you. can't just forgive everything like that. Is there a realistic path to the end of. this war?

President Zalinski, sometimes the question I'm about to ask. you, we answer it flippantly when people. ask, but I really want you to answer it. in the fullest honest context you. possibly can. How are you doing? Well, it's hard. uh hard because.

it's like I'm surviving along with my. country and with the people and it's. like really uh a question like will. tomorrow come or not and the answer to. that is yes it will. You can't answer it. any other way because I am that means my. family, my relatives, uh my country, I'm. an inseparable part of it. And so how do. I feel hard but with understanding the. difficult reality with optimism because. I still believe good wins. I believe in.

that truly. >> Is it a bit of a roller coaster on a. human level for you? Are there there. days where. there's more hope and days where there's. less hope? >> You can't live without hope. I. understand sometimes inside, you know, you can be shattered inside, especially. during wartime, especially. families who, you know, lose some. someone close in the in their family,

a child, God forbid, or uh a wife, a. husband, a mother, that is it's just an. internal uh breakdown. It's very hard. and it's much harder for them. I believe. just so much harder than uh uh than it. is for me with all these challenges. >> The weight of all of this sits.

often on your shoulders. And when. someone does lose a child or a loved one. or or a wife or a sister or a daughter, I imagine as I've seen from, you know, some of these photos I have here of you, I mean, this photo in particular stands. out to me. Oh, that's a terrible story. It's just a terrible story. That was uh. that's when a missile hit a playground. and the missile speed was such that the.

siren didn't help at all. So it was a. matter of seconds and the missile struck. and children were killed and both. children were killed there mostly and. adults just adults right there. A couple. I remember they were just out walking. passing by and because they were walking. by and and and were killed. parents, you know, like right on this on this. side there are homes too and parents. there they some of them saw through the.

window. Do you understand what it's like. to see through a window one of your. children just torn apart and toys just. such a during such a tragedy it's a. tradition to bring flowers uh for adults. and toys for children I went there it's. pain I'll say it again my pain can't. even it's not even 10% of the parents. pain it's terrifying just terrifying ing.

a missile that cut short the life of a. child who had seen nothing yet. Imagine. by the way and there are children a lot. of them among the fallen as well who. never lived in peace. I mean we we lived in in in a different. time. We understand what it's like to. live when there are no sirens, no. shelling and so on. But there are kids.

uh every night they go down to the bomb. shelter when the alarm goes off and the. alarm goes off every night then they. come back up and some of them have died. And just imagine there are children who. never knew what peace was. That's. horrifying. Absolutely. >> You said at the start of this invasion, this war, that you weren't sleeping. You. said early in this invasion, you said. you've not earned the right to sleep. And I'm really curious about the sort of. human toll that all of this has taken on. you over the last four or five years.

because it it never stops. It never. ends. And you you are a human being just. like all the rest of us. You have a. family. You have kids, but you have the. the burden of this kind of horrific. incident taking place in your country at. all all the time. What is what is the. sort of human burden there? And are you. sleeping? >> Uh I'll be honest. I. uh don't sleep. I I'm a responsible. person. I have different traits, good. ones, not so good ones. Like every.

person, nobody's perfect. Yeah. And. every night I speak with our air defense. operators, with our guys who run the air. defense. Every night we talk. Well, yeah. Thanks to modern technology, it's. very easy. And we text back and forth. what's needed right now. Let's pull some. over from another region. So, it's an. active discussion which obviously well. doesn't let you sleep. Yeah. You know,

getting 8 hours of sleep like that is. something something totally new to me. during these uh years almost 5 years of. war. I'm not complaining. I'm not. complaining at all. And that's how I. live. Uh. the burden, the strongest emotion. I. once answered this honestly. There's a. moment when I present awards and there's. this moment when I award and personally. the hero of Ukraine. It's the highest.

honor when I present this award to. parents who uh lost a child. Yeah. A boy. or a girl soldiers. that feeling uh. you know well how I cease to exist in. that moment I'm just well it's not e. it's not pain it's something ter. terrible I look at these people at their. eyes at what they say many of them say. something and and there are people who.

just ask for a hug imagine you give an. award to a father whose very strong hand. you can feel he's, you know, a strong. man. You feel his strong hand and he. just quietly says to you, "Can we hug?". So they, well, you know, they're gone. Gone as people anymore. Well, for a time. then strong people try to survive. And. these moments on the one on the one. hand, I respect them. I do it. But on.

the other hand, it's hard to bear. I I. understand them. And it's a huge. terrifying pain that I wouldn't wish on. anyone. What these parents feel having lost a. child, a soldier. These parents didn't lose a child on a. playground. They lost a soldier. They. knew that could happen. But knowing and. losing are completely different things.

>> I can see the tears in your eyes as you. describe this. I'm a human being. I'm not ashamed to be. who I am. I'm not the strongest man in. the world. I try to set an example, but. I'm definitely not a perfect person. Yeah. >> Is there anything that you Because this. is this is a lot to deal with. You know, I I hear you recounting the stories of. dealing with these parents. Is there. anything that you you do to take care of.

yourself? What is it that keeps you. strong? My kids, my kids. I I just, you know, I have to be an example. I told myself, maybe I don't have to, but that's what I. told myself. I have to set an example. for my kids. This is the way that is. not. And you have to set an example. Be. strong. Be as brave as possible. But. don't.

don't hide the pain. If you have it, you. shouldn't say, "I don't feel anything.". Because human beings by nature, they're. alive, and that's their weakness, but. it's also where a person's strength. lies. That really is where our strength. is. And so, my kids keep me grounded. very much. So, I want to set an example. I want them to be proud of me. We'll talk about that later. But there's. um there's one big outstanding question, which is who is President Zalinski? And.

I've been through hundreds and hundreds. of photos and stories from your. childhood. I've got some some wonderful. photos here of your earliest uh. >> days. And. >> yeah, >> and this is a beautiful one of your. wonderful mother as well. >> That's my mom. Yeah. >> Mom was very beautiful. Well, she still. is, but she's gotten older. Can you take. me into your earliest context just so I. can get a sort of a a view of what. childhood was like for you? What's the.

context in which you grew up? And. really, I'm I want to understand how. that context and early experience fed. into the man you are today, the. perspective you have, the values that. you cherish. I'm from the generation that um. straddled. uh two u let's say two different lives. meaning I was born in the Soviet Union. when Ukraine was part of the Soviet.

Union and I grew up in an independent. Ukraine. and I've always said that my kids. they're lucky because they were born in. an independent country without all. these, you know, shades of gray. This is. gray. That's something else. No, it's. black and white. Totally clear. They're. patriots. They love their country and. their country is Ukraine. While we were. born in the Soviet Union and you know, we were kids from a fairly.

let's say not I don't want to offend. anyone so my dad doesn't get upset. Well, from a regular very ordinary. family, not not very well off. Let's put. it that way. Yeah, let's put it that. way. Well, that's and I think it's. totally clear from the photos. Kai was. born in Kiri, an academic family in Soviet era. Ukraine. Wasn't um not not like you know.

in Europe or in the United States. An. academic family with everything. provided. Usually our academics didn't. make a lot uh of money but again I'm I'm. not complaining. I respect my father an. honest man a professor well values again. and again I got an education and I got. raised right and my parents love I think. th those three things are enough to be. grateful to your parents.

I'm not sure people find this. interesting. So let's move on. Um, when you were a young boy in those. photos, when you're under the age of 10, had I asked you what you wanted to be. when you grew up, what what would you. have answered? Because and to be honest, I changed like. the wind. Honestly, there was a time. when I really wanted to be a diplomat, wanted to be uh a border guard. Yeah.

And then uh I went to law school, graduated from law faculty and while. studying I realized that I was more. interested in media. So I got out and. started working that exact field. >> I mean at 17 years old you became. interested in comedy. >> Yeah. >> And you joined a comedy group. And you. from what I read you you did that up. until the age of about 26 years old. So. you were a comedian up until the age of. 26 years old before starting a media. company.

I yeah, but I was more I enjoyed I was a. script writer and so sometimes as a. writer I also did um a little acting. I. I enjoyed it. Yeah. Until I was 26 and. then um at 26 I got my own company. >> There's some interesting stats I found. Uh 28 years old you won Ukraine's. Dancing with the Stars. >> Yeah. >> Yeah.

So you can dance? >> I think yes. I'm not sure that now I. can. >> And later you voiced Paddington Bear in. the Ukrainian language film. >> Yeah, I really really loved I think. Paddington is a very cool thing. Really right. and for the people. I'm. not sure all of it is just for kids to. be honest. But nonetheless, that character resonated deeply with me. And I I even after I became president,

the next Paddington installment was. coming out. And all this was before the. war and they were sending me signals. Would you consider voicing another. Paddington movie? I said, well, I'd. really love to, but I didn't. Yeah. No. Um, and then between 34 years old. and 37 years old, you appeared in a. bunch of different feature films. And. most interestingly, you starred as one. particular character, a school teacher.

who accidentally becomes president in. the satirical TV series called Servant. of. >> of the People. >> The People. I think I have a photo. >> Yeah. Teacher of history. >> You've got to explain the context here. because people can't believe that this. is true. They can't believe that you. actually acted as an actor who. accidentally becomes president. And you. must find this bizarre that you then. became president because presumably at. that time you weren't expecting to.

become president when you became an. actor pretending to be president. >> Absolutely. I definitely didn't expect. it. Absolutely. And this idea this this. idea was about 10 to 12 years old. Once. um this idea came to me and I thought. about it. I lived with this idea for a. long time. I love doing that. And at. some point the feeling was that um the. world is changing, Ukraine is changing. and right now this idea is relevant. It.

will resonate and people will like it. >> What was the idea? When you say the. idea, >> the person from the people without any. uh history, without any political. background becomes president. and that's how it turned out to be. honest. So, you were playing a character in a TV. series called Servant of the People, and. the character was pretending to be the.

president. And you and you realize that. actually the idea of there being a sort. of servant of the people party or. president was probably quite a good idea. based on what was going on in Ukraine at. that time. And because of the government. instability at the time, you actually. registered Servant of the People as a. real political party in Ukraine. >> Uh well, that sounds basically like a. pretty good uh script. Uh yeah, but it. wasn't honestly calculated like that. Uh.

the series was very popular. In. parallel, there were a few other. projects. We had a political satire uh. project. Uh it was very popular. It was. even before that series. So I already. had my bearings in politics. Anyway, the. point was that indeed um I decided to. try my hand in this direction. And I. really wanted after the occupation of. Crimea, after the occupation of Donbas,

this whole situation changed us and you. and and you started to feel like. something something was going wrong here. a and it's war, but there still wasn't. wasn't that feeling yet because it. wasn't a full-scale war. And so I. didn't want to we were doing business. with Barus and with Kazakhstan and with. Russia as well. We had offices and. projects that we were filming and so on. So uh life changed. I I want wanted to.

drop it all and this this sense of. betrayal by Russia. Well, all of that happened and that's. why and you change ch this whole period. changed you as well. And so it's not. like it was some calculated plan. The TV. show comes out and then a political. party. I know about that. I know about. that. Some people might think that and. that's fine. That's normal. People have. their own opinions. That's normal. It coincided.

the mood in society coincided with my. inner mood and with my determination and. desire. So it's a coincidence of many. things. There should be a button just down below. here. And if it says subscribed, you're. already subscribed. If it says. subscriber, that means you're not yet. And if you're not subscribed, please. could you do us a favor and hit that. button? It helps the show more than you. know. And according to the algorithm, you're someone that watches our show, but you haven't yet hit that button.

Thank you so much. So you you talked about how it was. really sort of a change in the climate. in Ukraine that caused you to move. closer to politics because everything. that was going on at the time, Russia. invaded Crimea here in 2014. >> Yeah. >> Um they annexed Crimea and this is and. and so four years after this point you. announced that you're going to run for. president. Is this really when the war began in.

your view? Because there's been lots of. people that have posited when the war. began. Some people say the war began a. thousand years ago and they talk about. old Crimea and the everything that took. took place there with the Roose. Um, some people say it began in 2014 and. some people say it began in 2022. In. your mind, when did the war begin? I. think for many people that time really. is different. But if we take take the.

new Ukraine that regained its. independence in 1991. in the 20th century, then I think that. in 2014, all of us just couldn't believe. it that this kind of occupation was. happening. The war really started with. the occupation of Crimea. That's true. It's just that it was slow. that occupation. It didn't look much. like a war. Why? Well, because Ukraine.

wasn't fighting back at that point. Meaning, when they occupied Crimea, there were shots fired there, of course. But for a very long time, Russia. wouldn't admit these were its people. They looked like regular people. They. even called them little uh green men. That's what they called them because you. couldn't tell what that uniform was. Meaning these are people carrying some. kind of weapons on the peninsula. And. the problem was that there were no clear. orders from the Ukrainian authorities. that you need to defend your land that.

someone violated your borders with with. weapons and is seizing seizing gradually. seizing Crimea. So it was really that. kind of creeping occupation. Looking at. that time today, not back in 2014, not. in 2015, but today, you realize that. that's when the war really began. Our. mistake was not pushing them back. And. of course, if there have been an order, an order uh to defend the country, I'm.

sure that I think a full-scale war in. the form it h it has today wouldn't have. happened. >> Well, at least that's how it seems to. me. >> Um I I read that your your. great-grandfather and his grandfather's. four brothers were killed by the Nazis, and his grandfather was the only brother. to survive the war. And I wondered how. that experience of having that in your. family tree has.

changed how you think about this moment. in time when you're facing a war with. Russia. My grandfather went through World War II. from start to finish. My grandfather, my. father's dad, and he was Yeah. from a. family where there were several brothers. and all of them were killed by the. Nazis. I have very few relatives in. general on both sides of my family on my. father's and my mother's u many.

relatives were killed u by the fascists. and that's all that's why it always. sounded so bizarre when Russia accused. us Ukraine of supposedly having Nazis. It's bizarre and completely wild. If. people uh all knew even a little bit of. history, they would realize that. fascists in Ukraine, fascism as such. doesn't exist. Why? Because Ukraine.

understands deep in its roots what it. means uh to be under the fascists. Because during World War II, Ukraine was. occupied 100% completely completely. totally whereas Russia Ukraine uh. Bellarus was occupied Ukraine and Nazi. Germany it lost a huge number of its. soldiers who died specifically in. Bellarus, Ukraine because we all well. because our countries or our lands they.

stood and fought. Russia was not. occupied and that is also uh very. important to understand. That's why all. of our people in Ukraine saw it well you. know as barbaric and an outrage when. Putin attacked us and said we have. fascism and he's liberating Ukraine from. fascists. I mean it's absurd. We fought. against the fascists. We were the ones. liberating them. >> A lot of people don't have the. historical context on how this all. began. If if I was a 16-year-old and I had no.

understanding of geopolitics and I asked. you president, I said, "Could you. explain to me the background context. that I need to understand to understand. what the hell is going on at the moment? Why why are Russia going into Crimea? What is Vladimir Putin's perspective? Why does he think that that's okay? Why. does he think that he can invade. Ukraine? What is the historical context. explained in the simplest terms to a. 16-year-old about what the hell is going. on here? And I'm going to give you all. the time in the world to inform me.

>> There was. an empire called the Soviet Union. And that empire, it included a large. number of what are now independent. states. It's always like that with empires. Without getting into the historical. context, everyone will understand this. It's always like that with empires. Empires exist for a while. and then they collapse. because you can only hold everything.

together through autocracy. A territory like that so many people. through tyranny through feudalism. through slavery through certainly not. through freedom. Empires don't survive. on freedom. And this is very important. Why do empires fall apart? Because. people want to be free. Because people. compare their lives in an empire with. life in other countries, even small. ones. They see how things develop there. They see how things develop there. How. they live, walk freely,

choose any partner they want, whatever. hair color you like, music, clothes, and. so on. While the Soviet Union, these. empires, like everyone always said, the. iron curtain. Why an iron curtain? So. you wouldn't see what's out there in the. west in Europe in the United States of. America in Britain or anywhere in Asia. So people couldn't see in terms of. information an empire is hold. control everything right so a complete.

information vacuum there you don't exist. nothing exists no internet nothing. television that you run and control and. people get the information people live. like fish in a fish tank that's all it. is the fish tank can be massive like the. Soviet Union but it's still a fish tank. North Korea is a smaller fish tank, but. it's a fish tank. And that's what. happened with the Soviet Union. The. Soviet Union fell apart. Countries were.

happy. Countries became independent, smaller. Ukraine is one of those. countries. And. when identity emerges, you have your own. language, your own music, your own. clothes, and so on. What exists all. around the world, it's great tourism. You travel to Asia, you travel to. Thailand, you travel to Japan, you. travel to the United States, different. culture, different music, food, people, and everyone lives freely. And it's.

really cool to soak in another culture. That's the diversity. Why does an empire. fall apart? Because it's made up of. these kinds of people, nations that want. to have their own thing. The Soviet Union fell apart, but. nostalgia for the Soviet Union. stayed with people. Putin was the. president of Russia and he set a goal. for himself. And he's a purely Soviet.

man, a very Soviet man. He was an. intellig intelligence officer. He uh he. worked in the KGB in the KGB in Germany. and so on. He said, and this is his fa. very famous phrase, that the greatest. collapse of the 20th century in the. world was the fall of the Soviet Union. And all of that shows that Russia just. wasn't enough for him. And he had the. ambition to go back to that to bring.

back the empire, to bring back the. Soviet Union, because he believes that. another major country is to blame for. the collapse of the Soviet Union. Which. one? the United States of America. because this has always been a. geopolitical war. They're enemies, the. Soviet Union and the and the United. States of America, they were allies. during World War II and after that, you. know, they're enemies, the Cold War and. so on. So, it's very simple. Putin. wanted to bring back the Soviet Union.

And what is the Soviet Union? It is above all Ukraine. Ukraine. It's Ukraine. Ukraine is. country number two. >> Why? >> They called the Soviet Union a forge of. talent. In Ukraine there were so many people who. later led had that kind of education. because there were many scientists, many. engineers, many universities, a huge.

intelligencia. That's what they said. that for the Soviet Union, Ukraine was. the forge of talent. In other words, in. other words, many people who came from. Ukraine who then ran various. institutions, ministries in the Soviet. Union and so on. Meaning it's the. intellectual part of the Soviet Union. Ukraine was always rocket the biggest. rocket manufacturing was here nuclear. weapons which Ukraine handed over. A lot. of things were made in UK in Ukraine.

And what's the problem for Russia? If Ukraine becomes part of Europe and. without the Soviet Union, Ukraine. started taking gradual steps in the. other direction. Meaning if Ukraine. becomes part of Europe, then Russia will. collapse. It will fall apart. There are many. different peoples, different religions, entirely and simply different nation. into many different countries. And Putin. decided to piece this whole empire back.

together. This ambition, where do you. start piecing it together? He. started the war in Cheschna. He occupied Chichchna, a small country. that is now part of Russia. He destroyed. it completely. Everything that's. happening in eastern Ukraine. It's the. very same commanders, military. commanders who fought in Cheschna who. destroyed Cheschna completely. There was. nothing left, no buildings, nothing.

People were killed. Killed. A huge. number of people, by the way, were. killed in Chichchna. And he occupied it. And then he decided to bring back the. empire starting with Ukraine with a free. state, one that wants to be in the. European Union, one that is uh smart, intellectual. Other countries too, but. here here's what it is. Well, and the. start there always has to be a pretext. to start an occupation. What pretext?

It's always a pretext. The pretext is. always language. And he starts with Crimea. He starts the. occupation with Crimea. Why? In Crimea. there were a lot of Russian speaking. people, Russian speaking Ukrainians. But. to understand this and in Crimea there. was deportation. There was more than one. deportation. expulsion of the Tatars. In other words, Crimea has indigenous peoples and it's a.

multithnic peninsula. Uh but um what. happened is he started the occupation. with Crimea and with Domba with the. east. Why? Because he divided society, unleashed this war based on language. Because language is always such an. issue, uh a painful issue. And when you. want to divide society, it's totally. unfair. It's totally despicable toward. the people. You start bringing up the.

language issue. So he brought it up, said that I'm protecting Russian. speaking people, which wasn't true. Nobody took anything from anyone. Yeah. But it was just easier. The east of the. country uh borders with the Russian. Federation. days before I I think it was the day. before Vladimir Putin ordered troops to. invade Ukraine, he did a statement where. he said, "Modern Ukraine was entirely. and completely created by Russia, more.

precisely, Bolevik, communist Russia.". This process began almost immediately. after the 1917 revolution. Soviet. Ukraine is the result of Bolevik policy. and can rightly be called Vladimir Leans. Ukraine. Ukraine never had a tradition. of genuine statehood. So he's very much. denying that Ukraine is a nation of its. own. Why did he choose to invade. February 24th? Why did he choose then to. invade? If he had invaded Crimea in.

2014, why was in your view that the. moment where he decided to cross the. border and try and by the looks of it. take control of the whole of Ukraine? >> Um, first of all, notice he talks about. the Soviet revolution of 1917. That's ridiculous to anyone. Your. country's history can't start in 1917. In Ukraine, there are churches. Everyone. knows we have very beautiful churches. that are a thousand years old. Ukrainian. churches painted by Ukrainians. Total.

master professionals. A thousand years. old. Ukraine is. it's the heir to Kievan Rous, a great. state that was very well known in Europe. on the European continent at least with. an advanced civilization. Uh it really with with its own art, with. its own traditions and so on. Russia. wasn't even close to existing. Russia. came after Ukraine already existed. But.

he cuts all that out. Starts with the. revolution. Why? from the October. Revolution of 1917 because he's talking. about the history of the Soviet Union, not about the history of Russia and not. about the history of Ukraine. The Soviet. Union. Why? Because he's signaling to. people who are in Russia who honestly. the kids, they get information in. schools and they take it. They don't go. any deeper. He's signaling to them that. their life is the Soviet Union and.

that's where we're heading back to. That's what he's doing. He started a. fullscale war. The war started. 24th 24th uh of 22 February 24th. Missile strikes were launched. immediately from the territory. It was. flying from every every side. Troops. were also entering from the territory of. Bellarus right from here because it's. the closest route to the capital. they.

were advancing on Kev and also um came. from all directions. Uh they the main. goal was to seize. the capital of Ukraine. That was their. main goal. Naturally, they were counting. on the tough guys who were both Russian. and the separatists already in the. occupied uh in the occupied territory of. Donbas. >> Why? Why in February 2022? Why not.

later? Why not sooner? Why was that the. moment? What had happened that you know. because I I part of the reason I asked. this question is because President. Donald Trump often blames Joe Biden for. being weak and that giving Vladimir. Putin an opportunity to invade because. he didn't respect President Biden. That's what's claimed. Is there truth in. that? >> I'll explain. I think that um it was a. little bit earlier. Um in 21.

uh there was a summit. I don't remember. when anymore. I think I don't remember. There was a Biden Putin summit. Remember. that famous summit? We didn't have all. the details. They came out and started. talking about something uh publicly and. so on. Then rumors started that they discussed. the issue of a possible escalation. against Ukraine. and we kept bringing up this issue over.

the next few months. We kept bringing it. up with the Americans uh and this could. really happen and they were saying well. it could happen. We asked them then. please give us what we need to defend. ourselves if there are such risks that. some kind of occupation could start. We. couldn't imagine though that fullscale. invasion would start because we saw what. Russian occupation looked like with. Crimea and with um Donetsk and Luhansk.

oblasts. So you imagined it differently. You couldn't imagine that overnight. missiles would just start flying. Nobody. had ever seen anything like that. Why. were kids screaming? Why were people. fleeing? Why was there absolute chaos? Those were hor absolutely horrifying. moments because missiles are literally. flying at you. Nowadays, a thousand. drones fly in and we shoot them down. We. fight. But back then, right around 4:00. in the morning, missiles were raining. down on your head. Everyone was in. shock. So, he did it in February because.

that's what he wanted to do. That was. his his plan. I think he told Biden a. whole lot of things. I remember. unfortunately I think unfortunately. President Biden stepped in later um in. in the first uh minutes or days of the. war. I I had a call with him back then. when he offered to evacuate me back then.

a lot of people offered me help. I said. give us weapons, help us defend uh the. country. And I think they realized that. it's impossible to occupy us. That's what I think think happened. I. think that um uh the United States back. then um I don't know, maybe they did. consider that it could turn out that uh. there'd be a conflict and we might be. occupied, but nobody counted on us. holding out for sure. I remember that uh.

I think a day before. God, that was so. long ago. I've forgotten so much. already. A day before the invasion, the. Europeans who knew less than the. Americans, they were talking with Putin. and Putin promised them there wouldn't. be an invasion. Oh, he lied to all of. them back then. Just he knew there would. be an invasion. He knew everything. When did you first get a phone call. telling you that. Russia were planning to invade Ukraine?

How many days before it happened did you. get that call? And who was the the call. from? >> It it was never direct like Russia plans. an invasion on such and such day and. there will be a full-scale war like this. and that. It was never like that. These. were very cautious diplomatic signals. and so on and this uh how can I put it? We kept bringing up this issue. Why? because people were worried and people.

were worried that affected the economy. and affected the currency and the. stability of the national currency. started to drop which affected the. country's economy and we asked the. Americans give us a clear signal if you. believe this is war then give us weapons. urgently. everything you can give because well. that's what our um dialogue was like. yeah well but nobody would would give. anything. And I asked impose sanctions.

That's something everybody in Europe. knew about. They knew. I asked President. Biden, impose sanctions on Russia now. preemptively. If you know there could be. an invasion, impose sanctions. We other. and then he won't go in if he's really. decided to. But President Biden said. we'll impose sanctions if there's an. invasion. postfactum, not preemptive. sanctions, but postfactum. I'm not God to judge uh a president, but.

I believe that was a mistake in my view. >> Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but in October 2021, the director of. national intelligence and CIA director. briefed US leadership and top NATO. allies that Putin was making concrete. plans for a multiffront invasion. and. European media published satellite. imagery showing a 100,000 Russian.

troops, tanks, and field hospitals that. had started to emerge. And CIA director. flew to Moscow to warn Putin directly. against invading in November 2021. Then. in December 2021, the US government took. the rare step of declassifying. intelligent maps and troop estimates, predicting an invasion force of up to. 175,000 troops to prevent Russia from. using a false flag operation as a. pretext. And then in late January, early. February 2021, the US National Security. Adviser publicly warned that an invasion.

could begin at any time, urging foreign. citizens to evacuate Ukraine. And then. on February 24th, 2022, Russia launched. a fullscale invasion. >> And they launched the invasion from. multiple sides. >> Yes. >> Really with the focus on Kiev. >> Yes. >> Can you remember where you were when you. realized that they had crossed. >> multiple borders of Ukraine at the same. time? I'm I want to if I was a fly on. the wall in whatever room you were in,

wherever you were, what would I have. seen? Where were you? How did you find. out? First of all, I'd like you to know that. in Bellarus, the Russians were. conducting drills, training. These were. annual drills. That's very important. because when we talked to our partners. and they uh briefed, like you're saying, folks from NATO and so on, nobody fully. believed it. Why? Because everybody said. they were just saber rattler.

Putin was intentionally trying to scare. everyone. He wouldn't launch an. invasion. What I just told you, European. leaders called him. He said, "I won't. invade." He had exercises in Barus, military exercises. On top of that, our. defense minister was invited there to. these exercises and he was there. Just. so you understand. Imagine that. He went there, came back. and so on. And then the full-scale uh. invasion started from multiple.

directions. And what the Europeans said, echoing my messages, was impose. sanctions and give weapons to the. Ukrainians. If you know an invasion is. coming, the Americans didn't do that. They didn't give them and didn't impose. sanctions. And that's why everyone had. doubts. Everyone thought the Russians. were just bluffing. Why? because he. wanted to push us into the Minsk. agreements and so on so that we'd give. them Donbas and recognize Donbas as not.

Ukraine and also recognize Crimea as not. Ukraine. That's what in other words that. was the format of pressure but what. happened happened. >> What did you believe? >> I didn't think there would be a. full-scale invasion and so on. that we. give them Donbas and recognize as not. Ukraine and also recognize Crimea as not. Ukraine. That's what in other words that. was the form of pressure but what. happened happened. I didn't think there. would be a full scale invasion. I didn't. think so because I believe that if.

people know there's going to be a. full-scale invasion partners and so on. and they don't take preemptive steps. Don't sit him down at the table. Don't. tell him are you out of your mind? Have. you lost your mind to wage war in the. 20th century to kill people? you were. completely unhinged. But even so, a full-scale invasion. happened and just and they approached. Kevly, like really quickly. I mean, it was just it was well an.

avalanche. And I was I was with my. family. and I was with my family. I got a call. from the office saying that before that. during the night uh missiles were flying. missiles. I got ready told my wife told. the kids told them the war has started. and I went to the office. I arrived at.

the office. I was the first or second. the second person I think in the office. and I called everyone in and we started. uh. started the work day. Such a terrible. work day. The first one during the. full-scale war. >> What did your wife say? >> I don't remember. I It was very fast. Everything happened. so fast. I told my wife, "Wake up. quickly. The war has started. I I love.

you. I'll call you. And ran up. >> And life has not been the same since. >> Absolutely. It's just a different life. Everything is different. Everything's. different. 100%. When I was doing my research on that day. when Russia invaded, what I couldn't. believe is just the the volume of troops. that rolled across the border. I read.

one thing that said there was 65. kilometers of armored vehicles and. troops on one particular road as they. tried to take Kiev. Um, I want to talk. about that, but I I just I really want. to also get an answer to this sort of. outstanding question in my head, which. is Trump has repeatedly said probably a. hundred times now that this never would. have begun. It never would have happened. if he was president. Do you believe. that? Uh,

I think that no, nobody knows the. answer, honestly. Um, the fact remains that this happened. during Biden's presidency. That's a fact. It's a fact that this. didn't happen under Trump. A fact. But it's also a fact that Putin. chose the moment for.

a full occupation. That's also a fact. I think Trump had a special relationship. with Putin and still does. And maybe. uh it really is possible that. um Trump being on friendly terms with. Putin could have prevented a fullscale. invasion. But one thing you have to know. for sure, neither I nor Trump, we we're.

not eternal in these presidential seats. And so either way, Trump's presidency. would have ended and Putin still uh. wouldn't have been able to change his. main goal, the occupation of Ukraine. So. I think that honestly it doesn't matter. who um the president is as long as Putin. is there. On February the 24th, when Russia. invaded Ukraine, it is reported that. they sent there's different numbers, but.

some of the numbers go up to 200,000. troops that were assembled across the. Ukrainian border. It varies between. 150,000 190,000. And when I look at the. total active number of troops in Ukraine. at the time, it's almost the same. number. So, it's almost as if Russia. deployed the full size of the the number. of active duty personnel you had into. Ukraine to attack Ukraine and. specifically to take Kiev. Can you can you just explain to me in. simple terms how they staged that.

attack? You said that some troops came. in from Barus. There was uh support that. came in trying to take Kiev as well. I. think. >> uh they knew that our main forces. uh our main forces were in the east of. our country. Donetsk and Luhansk. regions. Yes. Donetsk Luhansk region. Why were uh Donetsk Luhansk regions. where our main units were? Look there is.

Khib which was also their target. Look. this whole all this all this whole part. marupo which was very important to them. donk which was already occupied and so. on. So uh what was the bottom line? Because when part of it was occupied. when Doness was occupied look Makayak. all of that was uh after the occupation. of Crimea all of this was occupied this. entire part the very strong troops were. stationed here strong both in terms of.

numbers and strength and the separatists. and they uh were fighting against us. Meaning you have to understand these are. people who considered the homeland. These aren't just Russians. These are. separatists. So they were both. separatists and Russians here. So this. was their strongest grouping. And our. strongest grouping was stationed right. here. And that was and that and that was. constantly. They were here. They were. stationed right here. Why were they why.

were they uh stationed here? Because. they were holding back the strongest. Russian grouping so it wouldn't break. through. And. nobody expected that they would go. through Bellarus and advance on the. capital. And that's why we didn't have. any strong troops here. That is an. absolute fact. We simply didn't have. that kind of army. The entire Ukrainian. army was well, excuse me, it was later I. changed the law to make it 200,000 plus. up to 250. But before that, it was an.

even smaller force. And just imagine. 200,000 people are coming at you. Well, it's simply impossible to defend. You. need an army like the one we have today, 800,000, which was actually the main. problem for the Russians troops. when we they couldn't take our capital. We held out and destroyed them. They. couldn't they didn't have enough troops.

to hold the occupied territories here. and they had to pull back. We were. hitting them and they were pulling back. And that's how we fully took back Kiev. region, Cherney region and that whole. front. We completely restored it and. pushed them out entirely. So it's. completely obvious they just didn't have. enough troops. Just like at first when they pushed in, we didn't have a strong army here. We.

didn't have enough troops. And later the. same happened to them. Naturally, when. the full-scale invasion started, we uh. there was mobilization and people there. were lines. People showed up as. volunteers and our army grew from. 200,000 to an army of 800,000. While the. Russian presence was around, by the way, the Russian presence was um around. 700 probably at that moment around. 700,000 across all directions on.

Ukrainian territory. Meaning this was a massive onslaught. coming in. A massive onslaught. >> There's um in late February satellite. imagery captured a massive 64 km which. is 40 m long Russian military convoy. >> Yeah. It was terrifying footage. Yeah. Of that. >> backed up along a single highway leading. to Kiev. And when you see 64 kilometers. of military military vehicles and. armored vehicles heading to one city and. then you hear that they failed to take.

that city, the question like. how how. um they captured by the way the. Chernobyl nuclear plant where the. disaster happened. All of that was. occupied. That whole route was occupied. They occupied it and blockaded Kev. How. did we People stepped up. people went to. mobilize. Yes. A huge number on the. first day we we. left. uh left the country.

headed toward western Ukraine, the. western part of our country. They left, but a lot of people stayed, mobilized, and we we brought up our troops. and started fighting them day after day. We pushed back harder. They cut off our. food, cut off our water, cut everything. off completely. So that was their that.

was their mission. They expected people. to run and me and certain people came to. me and they said Kiev is cut off and. Kiev is surrounded and the Russians are. suggesting you hand over your powers and. and that's it. meaning Kiev m must. surrender. uh naturally I told those people where. to go uh let's put it that way uh out of.

my office and then as you know uh. leaders were calling offering to. evacuate before all the roads were. blocked. uh to get out of Kiev. >> Who called you and asked you if you. wanted to be evacuated and did they make. you an offer to evacuate you themselves? Biden. >> Joe Biden asked you if you wanted to be. evacuated. >> He was the first. The first. >> What did he say? >> We are ready to help you evacuate. because.

uh naturally well the invasion Kiev is. surrounded and you we are ready to help. you you and your family. Uh likewise. many Europeans offered me that later. Several Europeans uh and people uh. around me as well. Let's say people. around me from our political circle also. suggested yeah doing all that. >> What did you say to Biden?

>> I I need ammunition, not a ride. >> Did you tell your wife and your family. to leave? Um. they all um. nobody could go anywhere because that. was a choice. Uh that was. uh the families and theirs. Um uh.

naturally they weren't in the office. with me or the security detail took them. and they went uh to to to another. location. Yeah. Well, because it was. clear that that uh there was just shoot. there was shooting right around the. president's office and it was obvious. how this could all end. And they asked. me to go down to the bunker down there. I had uh it was very deep underground.

built right inside my office and in that. bunker I started working uh that's where. Biden called me uh all around my office. was secured by snipers various guys of. ours special services and I was in the. bunker uh down there I had. communications and I spoke with all the. leaders from there that's where I first. did a video call with the Europeans.

pleading with them to unite, help. Ukraine not abandon us and it worked. Yeah. And I continued uh being there. going out into the street talking to to. the people showing myself because there. were so many in those first few days. there were so so many uh narratives. Russia was put putting out a lot of. information claiming I had fled. So. basically their whole idea was for. people to run and people would run if. they saw that their leader abandoned.

them. Well I mean excuse me if the. leader abandoned the capital well then. everyone has to uh survive on their own. So that was the whole story. They wanted. me to run and for them for them that was. yeah obviously that was their goal. And. I couldn't abandon Kev, the office, the. people. It's just impossible. That would. be betrayal. Betrayal of my human. decency and the constitution of Ukraine.

So I couldn't uh do that. Well, and and. that's it. That's it. And then and they. put the Russians constantly pushed. information that I wasn't there, then. that I was spotted at the border, then. that I was seen uh somewhere else, then. in other countries. And all of that. forced me to go out into the street all. the time. Two, three times a day, I made. a decision to constantly communicate, constantly say something to people so. people could see that I was in the. office on Bankova, that I hadn't fled.

anywhere, hadn't run away. That was. important for the military, too. Later. on with time, the military told me that. it meant a lot to them. They stood. strong, fought, defended, and liberated. Kev because they believed they were. liberating their capital, their home, and their president. Meaning that he. didn't abandon us, that he stayed with. us. That's what they said. Well, it was. my duty. I don't see it as some kind of.

uh very special choice of mine. I. believe that this was the only way I. could act. >> Were you scared? Because if I You have a. nuclear power, one of the biggest. militaries in the world that have 64. miles of military equipment heading. towards where you are and you have them. invading also by air, firing missiles. into the cities that you're in and your. family are in. You've made the decision you're going to.

stay. Were you scared? >> Scared? It's a different feeling. It's not about. fear. It's about being well, being laser. focused on what needs to be done right. now. We were working at such speed, I can't even tell you. I was just. running around the office. I was. running, making decisions, calling. leaders. I just had no breaks. I had, I.

don't know, dozens of calls with leaders. every single day, every hour, every. second. I'd run outside, come back, talk. to the military, come back. So, I just. didn't have time for that. I only. realized it all about 20 days into the. war. I just realized that something. happened, something terrible. and and. the speed, you know, when the speed. slightly slightly began to shift, you.

started to realize, my god, well, this. is war. This is and it's without a doubt. a horrible war. Yeah. But at first, I I. was just working. Honestly, uh I have. this trait. I don't even think it's just. me. People have this trait to pull. yourself together when you know shock. people around you are in shock and you. see it in their eyes. You see that they, you know, well, they're in shock and you. realize that you need to act right now.

Just act. Act every second. Draw. conclusions. Kev is blockaded. Open it. up. Tell the military, "Open the road. We need food to get in, water, and so. on." That is that's what crisis. management is. And in tough situations, basically that's usually how I I act in. tough situations. And it's not like I'm. uh again the bravest person. It's just. when this kind of thing hits, I see.

people around me falling apart, you. know, falling apart. Well, because it's. a terrible war, I pull myself together. completely. And only later relate once. you've relaxed you realized that a. terrible tragedy occurred a war and and. it's just immense grief pretty much like. that. >> When when did things slowed down enough. for you to realize the severity and the. impact of the tragedy that had taken.

place and the lives that were lost? Was. there a particular moment? The first few days I didn't sleep at. all. The first few days we just worked I. was sleeping about yeah 15 minutes. sleeping 15 minutes because I had my. entire job was communication. I was. talking in circles with every leader. Deliver this over there. Do that there. We set up flawless logistics. uh for weapons. We we were able uh I was.

talking at night with Poland with Andre. Duda. There was a warehouse there. We. were waking leaders up meaning in the. middle of the night. So it was well it's. improper to say this today. You. shouldn't treat people like that. But. that's how it was. And about 20 days. later into the war, everything started. coming together into some steps that. needed to be taken into some kind of. well like the realization that well.

a war had begun. War, tragedy, and we. have to move forward. And well, that's. about how it was. At first it was crisis. management. Unblock, bring back troops, break the siege of. Kev, strike back at them. And definitely. the most crucial things were. communications, food, water, the population. So many.

cities were cut off. It wasn't just the. banking system, cards, making sure cards. worked. I mean, we're a pretty. digitalized country, so a lot of things. were done. A lot of things were done in. those first weeks. We were faster than. the Russians. They broke through quickly. toward Kev. And once we stopped them at. Kev, we became much faster in the.

information space and so on. We. shattered their whole their whole wave. of disinformation and just broke them. down step by step step by step. until. they realized that they lost the capital. to us and and then it became clear that. we had to push harder. Our partners. helped. Our partners realized that we.

wouldn't give up and they started. helping. That was definitely it. I. remember how it happened. >> It is often said that Vladimir Putin. believed he would be able to take Kiev. in Ukraine in just a number of days and. actually captured Russian assault units. carried only 3 to 10 days of combat. rations alongside formal dress uniforms. meant for a victory victory parade. While state media accidentally released. a presscheduled victory declaration on. day three. Although Putin never never.

publicly uttered the phrase three days. or said a sort of time frame himself, there are top Russian state media. figures um who openly bragged that the. conquest would take only a few days. What is it that they misunderestimated. about Ukraine? That's right. Exactly what you started. with today, that Ukraine is not Russia. That's his problem. Refusing to. recognize a separate nation, refusing to. recognize a separate country. That's. what did him in. He still doesn't.

understand that he looks at Ukraine as. Russia, as part of Russia, that I'll. march in with an army. We'll have. hundreds of thousands of men. He'll slam. his fist on the table. The president. will run away. People will hide and the. Ukrainian flag will be swapped for the. Russian flag. And that's it. Three days. We showed a military operation that was. supposed to take three days. That's how. it is. When our guys hit their tanks and. stuff, we found parade uniforms. It's. true. They found parade uniforms in. their various military vehicles. They.

were literally marching to a parade. They specifically wanted to capture Kiev. in 3 days and symbolically hold some. well some kind of uh regular spectacle. uh of pseudo victory on Christhatic on. Independent Square. Well, I mean that's. the most important thing. He still. doesn't understand and doesn't want to. admit that this is a different nation, a. different people. >> Just 12 hours ago, Trump weighed in on.

what he believed happened with Kiev and. why Vladimir Putin wasn't able to take. Kiev. This is what he said. I'll throw. it up on the screen for the listeners. >> But then it was supposed to be a very. much, you know, very quick war, right? And if you remember the tanks going up. the highway right into Kiev. Had the. general who was obviously not a very. good general not made a right turn into. farmland which was soaked and soaking. wet from the heaviest rain in 10 years. they say. >> he went right up into the mud and it was.

like quicksand and those tanks. So they. got I guess I don't know if you're. caught lucky or not lucky frankly cuz. it's been 5 years and Ukraine has lost a. tremendous you know Ukraine has lost. so many of its men number one had they. not taken the right turn onto dirt. instead of going up a concrete highway. it would have ended in one day. >> So Trump says that it was a Russian. mistake taking a wrong turn that stopped. this war being over in a day.

No, they surrounded Kev. They they. reached Kev. They occupied towns on the. way to Kev. Uh some they didn't occupy. Towns fought back. They bypassed them. No, if someone took a wrong turn, I. don't know what President Trump is. talking about. It's overall it doesn't. matter. With all the armor they lost. near Keev, hostal and so on. In other. words, dozens hundreds of armored. vehicles burned. They just they just.

trapped us and then we started hammering. them and they didn't know what to do. about it because some of their armor. breached into Kev right into the. capital. Armored vehicles drove through. the streets and people burned it all. down. They were especially shocked when. they drove toward the capital and people. were just throwing burning debris. I. mean pe people were setting their armor. on fire. It wasn't a matter of some. general being an idiot. I believe the.

one who gave the order just didn't fully. realize what was happening. Didn't. really get what it would take. And. that's the main point. They needed. around. thousands thousands. I think 3 to 400,000. to take Kev. They needed twice as many. men. Why? Because taking Kev, what does. taking Kev mean? When you've taken those. towns on the on the way to Kev, you have. to leave troops behind to hold those.

towns. And that takes a huge number of. people. It's a pretty large territory. And you can avoid leaving many troops. there only if there's no resistance. But. if the people inside offer resistance, then you you need an army to hold every. town. That was their uh that was their. mistake. They didn't estimate, right? didn't estimate uh they didn't even. realize there would be resistance. That's it. That was their main mistake.

And then then that's it. That's all. For. example, if you take uh that operation. back in 2014. when they uh went in and seized uh. Crimea. then, pardon me, in Crimea. there are 3 million people. and Kev had 3 million people.

Dozens of people entered Crimea, at most. hundreds, and here hundreds of thousands. It's not about the operation. The. difference is people defended it, stood. up and fought. And the difference is no. one fought back. Which is why I said. when dozens of people showed up here. where Trump is right is that if Crimea.

hadn't been allowed to fall, there would. be no war on this. I agree with. President Trump. Not because I'm blaming. anyone. No, it's just that dozens of. people went into Crimea. Dozens. For a. country like this, that's zero. That's. nothing. We handled hundreds of. thousands. Here, here's what happened. And if. they'd been smacked in the head back. then, uh, the Russians, those people. wearing uniforms, meaning the Russians. would have even said, "Hey, that's they. were already saying, "That's not our. army. Look at the uniforms. You can't.

tell us the Russian army." And if they'd. been hit back then, well, it wouldn't. have happened. Well, at least there. wouldn't have been a chance of a. full-scale war. Why? Because Putin would. have known there would be. a blow. There would be a response. But. what was his mistake here? First of all, when he saw how Crime Crimea was seized. so easily, so easily, that's why he. thought he could seize Kev just as. easily. That was his experience.

>> And there's quite a famous battle that. took place um to secure the Anatonov. airport, >> Hostol. Uh Hostol Antonov, that's what I just. told you. That's a battle. There's a. terrible battle in Hostol. A brutal. battle. of the airport in host. >> Can you explain that to me? Um because I. I watched a documentary on this a couple. of months ago and it feels like it was a. really pivotal moment in defending Kiev. What were Russia trying to do? Where is.

this. >> when they land for them it was crucial. to seize the airports. Hosttol is one of. uh the airports where a massive landing. force could could land and so on. So. here's how a takeover works. block kev. capture the airports basically TV towers. and so forth in other words seize. information logistics and cut off. supplies of uh food food weapons and so. on that that's bas basically the plan.

and you need the leader to to run. because no leader means chaos no chain. of command that's what they were doing. there was a terrible battle in Hostol. our people burned them there and they. had very tough of combat uh units. They. couldn't uh land a large force there. They were destroyed. Uh Hostol was taken. back. Uh our troops controlled it. That. was one of the striking battles. A.

terrible battle. One of the most. striking battles. So we did everything. possible not to let them capture us and. seize our logistics. >> They they flew in with paratroopers. So. they parachuted people into that airport. to try and claim it. And they originally. did seize the airport. >> That's right. >> And then there was an immediate. counterattack where Ukrainian National. Guard units and special forces. >> Yes. Our National Guard. >> You shelled and destroyed the runway.

yourself. You destroyed your own runway. while air defense units forces shot down. several Russian transport helicopters. And from what I understood, you know, you took the air port back. They fought. you took it back. They thought that. that's right. Changed hands back and forth. That's how. it was. >> And if they had been able to seize that. airport, how would that have changed the. situation with K? Do you think. >> they. likely they could have uh they could.

have taken most of the capital. They could have broken through and. captured it. That's true. That's true. That was an utterly heroic uh battle. >> It when you hear these stories, you. realize that. the future of Ukraine. comes down to both heroism, but also. several small battles. Some big battles, but also several small moments. when you. reflect on that that month, that moment,

what are is there any other sort of. small moments that you think really. define the future of Ukraine in this. regard? >> Well, uh just so you know, um today, um places like Hostol, then further up. Mushroom and several small towns around. Kev, there was a desperate battle for. every single one of those towns. Why the National Guard? because back. then uh the full army couldn't reach it.

yet. But the national guard are uh. internal troops. So they were there and. brought in army units and so on. But. nonetheless, that's why it was an. utterly heroic battle. There was BHA, you know, right, that they occupied it. It was terrible. It was a genocide. recognized by everyone. They buried. hundreds of people. They tortured. people. I mean tortured them and. hundreds of people were in a mass grave. They found a grave. There were, I.

believe, around 500 people, half a. thousand people in a grave like that. Just imagine hands tied, tortured, and. then buried in in in pits. That's what. was happening. People. seeing all this, this looked nothing like a war. It. looked it was definitely pure looting. when they occupied those towns on the. way to Kev and around Kev. They collap.

they just went into homes just killed. took microwaves, some refrigerators, TVs. They acted like just an well, I can't. even describe it. Well, they're just. scavengers. And all these people, they tied their. hands, tortured them. There was sexual violence, everything. And they buried people right in the. yard, dumped people and so on. When we.

liberated those towns, there emerged this, you know, this kind. of such hatred for the Russians. Right at that moment, not even at the. moment when they started the fullscale. war. Back then, every nobody understood. what it really was yet. People. understood what this war was and what. Putin did personally when we found those. mass graves of tortured adults,

children. I mean, they didn't just kill. them, they tortured and killed them. >> Children. >> That's right. That's right. And then you realize that I mean just. imagine what they went through. Well, there's no no you can't even. compare what all these people live. through. Why BHA is so horrifying and. why the Russians immediately started. saying it's a staged performance. We. brought in journalists. The entire world.

press was there. They saw the bodies. I. deliberately when we liberated Bha I. went there. Once I saw it, I said, "Bring every journalist here. Don't touch anything. Just bring the. journalists. The whole world simply has. to see this." And they brought the. journalists. People were literally lying. on the pavement. Dead bodies lying. everywhere. Kids, adults, elderly. people, and so on. Witnesses who had.

stayed behind in BHA. An old man, an. elderly man. This was a very famous. story there. It's one of those moments. you're talking about. this elderly man, he lit survived uh the occupation of. this town, the town of Bha during World. War II. And he said the fascists never. treated people like that. Yes, they were. enemies, yes, occupiers, but they didn't torture people like. that.

This is absolute reality. And this there. are testimonies, there's evidence, there. are criminal cases and how after all. this we it's just that it was already a. long time ago in the first year of the. full-scale war. And sometimes people. need to be reminded when you see a mass. today finding a grave in the US or in. Britain, God forbid, with 500 tortured. people, adults, kids, dogs, animals shot. dead. I mean, they held hunting sprees.

there. from military vehicles. People were. running, they were shooting, just. hunting, playing games. the whole time. They were blockading Kev. right up until the moment we liberated. it. They There were people in those. villages and so on. They literally just. played with people like slavery. Imagine. that. So, how how after this uh can you. listen to Putin and how how after this. can you forgive? And that's why when. President Trump says we need to find a.

compromise and believe me this we live. with this a ceasefire. and sitting down at the negotiating. table there's a huge compromise. It is a huge compromise. Nobody can step. into the shoes of all these people and. the relatives whose children were. tortured. Nobody can nobody wants to. forgive them for anything. Nobody wants. to forgive anything. And you can't force. people to forgive. How can you force. them when their child was tortured?

How do you forgive? Well, it's. impossible. But that's why we say a. ceasefire is the only step because. people have such hatred. It It's not. going away. It that hatred isn't going. anywhere. It takes time and justice. And. that's why it's a huge compromise. I've. always really wanted I I've tried many. times to tell the president of the. United States just understand us. This. is a huge compromise just to hold the.

lines where we are that to well look. that's what it feels like. >> What was your hardest day. through the last four years? What's the day that you know will live. long in your your brain, your mind, your. memory? BHA, what I just told you, that was a. terrible day because I stood there. I. had never seen people's bodies just. scattered on the on the street in my.

entire life. I had simply never seen. anything like that in my life. And after. that, everything changed completely. And. once again, everything changed in life. >> Everything has changed. >> Absolutely. >> In what way? Well, you want. you want. revenge.

Uh I had never had it. where I couldn't forgive someone. And by. and large, I think people make mistakes. This this is about something else evil. like that, you know, a devil like that. Just came in like that, did that to. people. like like chopped meat, butchered them, you know? I mean, that's what it looks. like. And you just can't fathom how.

that's possible. And you want to find. these people who aren't human. You want. to find them and you want to you just. want to you want to kill them. I mean, I had never wanted to kill a. single human being. I had never felt. anything like that. Pure revenge. With time, you can't forget that. And in. moments like this, and our conversation. brings back moments like that. And you.

have to be president and you have to. come down and be more uh how do it. uh diplomatic. Yeah. Well, you can't. forgive just forgive everything like. that and say well sorry that's Putin a. powerful country. Let's just forget. everything. Let's forgive everything and. somehow well we'll buy and sell gas or. diesel or whatever. That's difficult.

You understand? >> Do you ever worry about how this. experience has changed you? Because you have been irreversibly. changed by this. I can tell both from. meeting you, looking at how you used to. be 3, four, 5 years ago, you've been. irreversibly changed. and you're a. father and you're a husband and at some. point this war will be over, you know, God God willing. But do do you ever.

think about how you're irreversibly. changed? >> You can't bring it back. It's just it's. two different worlds. A re-evaluation of. values. My only dream is. to end this war. I desperately want. justice. I just really want I know so. many people had their hearts ripped out. and there won't be a new heart. You have. to give them at least something. So some. trial, some justice, you know, at least.

some moral soloulless is an absolute. must. You can't just leave it because. that hole inside them, it won't heal and. there will be revenge like I told you. and a and re the revenge of so many. people who lost everything that. naturally brings uh risks uh of some. kind of ongoing military or combat. actions you know and so forth. So it's. not that simple. It doesn't just end.

like that. Why do we talk talk about a. just peace? Some people ask what is a. just peace? Well somehow there has to be. justice. The guilty must be punished. At the very least, you have to show a. path that it will happen. Maybe not. right now, but that it will happen. It's. just totally impossible to simply. forgive and and that and you realize. that you want uh to be with your kids, with your wife. Generally, you just want.

uh to end the war and get a little bit. of a life. But if if I asked Alina, your. wife, how you have changed. on a human level because of all of this, what might she say to me? >> I don't know. She'd definitely say I've. changed a lot. Yeah, she tells me. sometimes. Yeah. Well, >> what is she saying? >> Well, you know how it is.

She focuses on different things, you. know, different values. You just want somehow. you want to hold on to something that. the people close to you. You really. crave that warmth. You want to break through this. uh.

in a war you fight and you're lonely. You know in life before this war you're. definitely not lonely because you have. friends, company, business, then maybe. politics, but you're not lonely. I I run. a country and and this is about. something completely different right. now. But when you. hug your family, it's just like that. Well, it means uh well, it means there. are people who love you. That matters.

>> Do you miss them? >> Very much. Very much. Pointless. sentimentality. Maybe that's it. That's how it is. Years have passed, you. know, between this and this. uh years years. I really I miss them. constantly. And it feels like that even.

when they're right next to me. It's just. this habit, this habit of doing work and focusing. exclusively on work. Uh even. when they're near, I miss them. sometimes. meaning. well. again I don't like to complain and I'm. not complaining I chose my own path uh. and of course I didn't choose the war.

but I chose this path well. this war it fell on my my lifetime and. on the lifetime of our generation. >> yeah. beautiful wife and beautiful It's. >> your daughter is um. >> Yeah, >> your daughter she's not a child anymore. >> Yeah, I suck that. >> they've all grown up in the last four. four years. >> She's a young lady now. >> Very much so. She really has. Yeah.

Grown up. Yes. And all the children of. Ukraine and it's true. I've said this. The children of Ukraine grew up during. the war. Totally true. They are all so. grown up. And it's so sad that childhood. passed during a war. Well, but. nonetheless, we believe in peace, peace. will prevail anyway, 100%. And the do my. daughter and I are really great friends. She's grown up now. And well, her.

English is better. >> Do you get to spend a lot of time with. the kids? when there's time I I try to be with. them to call we talk these days there. are plenty of options we talk online we. talk in different ways that's how it is. >> is it is it possible you know gosh I um. I've spent since I was 18 years old been. running businesses and you know running. a startup I you know I thought you know. was a was was a challenge but it is. incomparable from you know and I say.

this because I think about how that. pulled me away from the people in my. life my relationships being so obsessed. with business, but it's just totally. incomparable to think about what that. must be like to try and maintain those. important relationships, especially with. children when your country is being. invaded and you are the leader of that. country. I I I almost can't fathom how. you can find moments of presence with. them, like true presence. I understand. how one might be able to like fake.

presence for a short period of time but. true sort of intellectual presence is it. is it possible. differently but differently now. absolutely but yes that presence matters. and those moments you mentioned you've. been in business since you were 18 and. some I imagine of your relationships. become secondary probably while business. always consumes your whole life well at. least it was that way for me and this. re-evaluation from this war and these.

images and these horrific moments. definitely shows me that business is. secondary. Everything is secondary. These people. right here, that's. what matters most. now that you can't get back. These years. slip away and in these intense moments. you remember. these people. It's important. >> And your wife, Alina, has been your rock.

through it all. I've heard you say she's. been your stability throughout all of. this, all of these crazy crazy times. Well, we support each other. That's. true. We um we I think that I have a. very um smart uh wife and she is so. real. We have real we have real. feelings. We we have love and resp and.

respect. I think that's very important. Um to respect each other and you know. how should I put it? People should find. each other interesting. I think that's. the most important thing. People need to. find each other interesting. Yeah. And we find each other very. interesting. We feel good. We feel very. good. >> The other um very important woman in. your life, your parents are still here, but your mother. >> Yeah. >> I heard she calls you uh almost every.

day. Still. >> Every single day. >> Every day. Every single day. >> That's right. Every day. >> Really? Where does she's living in. Ukraine still? >> When your mother calls you, what does. she say every day? What is she asking you? >> Her first question is did did you. actually pick up? >> She's already like that because I so. often she I look God 12 missed calls. Mom, I'm working. I tell her 12 calls. How can you call someone so many times?

And she keeps dialing. She'll call you. all day long until I pick up. So we make. sure to speak once a day. She asks, "How I'm feeling. >> and is she worried about you?". >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. How are you? How. are you feeling? How are the kids? Tell me. Right. When is um Putin going. to uh end the war?

And I say, "Mom, we're doing everything. we can.". And as things stand at the moment for. the people don't understand what's. actually going on in the ground on the. ground in Ukraine, where the Russian. troops currently are, what life is like. on a day-to-day basis if you're a. Ukrainian. Can you explain to me which. parts of Ukraine are currently occupied. and generally what life is like for. Ukrainians at the moment? um occupied.

uh occupied was. Cremia. Then they took the Azov that's. an inland uh sea of ours and that's our. sea. They made it Yes. They turned it. into an inland sea. They took Marupo. They took Marupo. They took Berdansk. All of the Azov Kerch is a city on the.

Black Sea. They made it so we can't get. out. Next they Oleski is where right now. uh people and children are trapped. without food, without anything. They. won't let them through. Right now we are. working to unblock it. There were 2,500. people left Heron. We fought to take. back the major city of Heron. We. reclaimed it. uh her son is split by the. Nepro River. Our people live on one. bank, the enemy is on the other bank and.

that's why they shell out Hers and. Zaporisia's also under under our. control. So they took. Cremia Donetsk region uh Luhansk region. they couldn't take like uh call her son. this part this part is ours. So upside. the map is just upside down. Uh from Kharkif here this is what they. call Luhansk oblast right here. This is.

our crators like this right here. Theyak. to matifa. right here. Zapuria is ours. So. basically people can see that all of. this is all of this is. this is roughly. roughly sorry I'm not very good at. drawing. Uh all of this is all of this. is roughly 18.

18 to 19%. of our territory. That's roughly roughly. it roughly because their maps are one. thing to be honest. They sell uh one. story to their pe people. We have. different maps. We believe we're right. Well, naturally they have their own. their own approach to talking with. society and presenting information, but. roughly that's what it is. >> And they're attacking.

via missiles and drones other parts of. Ukraine constantly. Right. >> Completely. Yes. Yes. See, they're. focused on Well, honestly, you could. point everywhere here. They've already. started today. Right here, they killed. people in Lut. That's the western part. of our country. Right here, a missile. struck and they're hitting Keev. uh Puluki right here. We went with the. British secretary saw 23 people killed.

Is under constant shelling. Uh well, Riv. has fewer strikes. uh Leviv. This part fewer strikes here. This part to be honest, all of this part. is far away from uh the line of. occupation from the contact line and. from the Russian Federation. So. obviously the distance is great, which. is why there are no massive strikes. there. Yes. Well, that's roughly it.

>> What are they trying to accomplish? Adessa is being shelled deep alive. What. do they want to pull out of out of the. east of our country so that Putin and. the east is here's what he wants. He. wants basically he wants to take the. city of Zaparisia but he can't. That's a. target for him. Zaparisia and Mikolaf. all targets. But he doesn't say that. He. doesn't say it. But after all, we. liberated those cities. We liberated and.

>> but have you heard directly from them. >> right. >> as to what their demands are? What they. say that they want to to stop launching. missiles? >> Yes. They basically say right here this. entire piece. >> They want to take pretty much the the. east of Ukraine. >> They want Yes. the east. That means they. want uh Slovian. Well, these are key. Slovian, Kmaturk, uh, Duska and that. leads right out into the Nepropet region.

into uh, Pavlo Nepropetk. These are the. most cre is my hometown. Nikop is an. industrial hub, an engineering hub, a. manufacturing hub. It's the economy. uh, of our country. And so it's very. dangerous because if you surrender this. part to them and this is this is heavily. reinforced defense of our nation right. here.

like this. And if we hand these cities. of ours over to them then the risk is. huge. if he wants to keep going, he. could seize. a huge. number of our cities if he pushes. further. And the risk is real. Nobody. guarantees anything. You understand? Everyone talks about security. guarantees. And we're open. We're. completely open to that. We say, "Well, okay, security guarantees. Let's do. NATO.". Well, NATO, you know, the Russians.

Well, again, they keep sending signals. to the Russians because you have to give. security guarantees. On top of that, like I told you, the biggest compromise. with so many dead, the biggest. compromise we're already making is a. ceasefire. Let's just stop this war. But. they want us to pull out even further. And if we pull out, where are the. security guarantees? Aside from the fact. that it's unfair, >> you know, you talked about the barbaric. nature of how they've treated. Ukrainians. Are you at all concerned.

that they might escalate using more. horrific weapons like nuclear weapons at. any point? Has that ever crossed your. mind? Well, it crosses everyone's mind after. what they've done that they might do. something worse. But as of today, well, I don't think they'll take the risk of. using nuclear weapons because then I. think they won't definitely I'm sure. they won't have any allies left,

including countries like America, China. Well, excuse me, but that that's far too. dangerous even for nuclear powers. That. means if one country can do it then if. there's a conflict somewhere else on. another continent in another theater I. don't know the Middle East whatever that. means if a nuclear weapon is used once. it might be used a second and a third. time so I don't think Putin will risk uh. nuclear weapons but then again we're. dealing with look we're dealing with a.

man and with a system that until the end. of his days will hold on to him and he. to it because only when his life ends. will he leave the Kremlin and hand over. well physically hand over naturally. transfer power. I'm more than certain of. that. regarding the the current. situation this week with with Trump with.

Russia and this deal that's been done. From my understanding because there's an. energy crisis globally, Trump has now. done a deal with Russia for diesel. He. then asked you not to attack any energy. infrastructure in Russia. >> No. >> Um there's a there's a video that I. actually have here of him describing. this which um a lot of people have have. now seen. I'll play it. >> Well, I look at it differently. Zalinski. could have settled this war many times. He chooses not to. Very difficult. Uh.

it's a war that should have never been. started. If I were president, if the. election weren't rigged, I would have. been president and that war would have. never started. We said you could do. whatever you want to Russia. Don't hit. the refineries because that's a world. problem that's caused. And he wants to. make problems for the world. He wants to. make problems for our farmers, our. ranchers with diesel fuel. because. Russia supplies a large portion of the. diesel fuel throughout the world. And we. told them, "Do whatever you want, but.

don't hit the diesel fuel because. there's a big crop of big shortage." And. what does he do? He goes and hits the. diesel fuel. Do what you want. Don't hit. refineries. There's plenty of target. And he went out and he hit and he's not. going to affect our farmers and he's not. going to affect our ranchers and he's. not going to affect the rest of the. world. So, uh, we he's better damn well. stop. And in that he says that he thinks. the Ukraine needs a new president. >> Yeah. Um first of all uh diesel exports.

have no impact. The volume of diesel. exports is so negligible uh from Russia. that it has zero impact on prices in the. United States of America. That is. totally false information. That's first. Second, it makes no sense for us to. strike Russia's energy infrastructure. We retaliate because because they strike. our energy infrastructure. We've spoken. a lot about this. The Russians hit our. energy grid. Our people live without. power. We don't have oil, gas, diesel,

and so on. That hurts them. What hurts. us is electricity. They hit our. electricity. We strike back at their. diesel. They make money on diesel and. spend it on weapons. My offer, excuse. me, but I don't need this. I've always. told President Trump, broker an energy. ceasefire, at least on energy. At least. let's give people light and good for the. Russians. They'll sell their oil if they. want to, if that's what you need. But.

President Trump can't reach an agreement. with Putin on this. Putin refuses him an. energy ceasefire. And so the president. decided to pin this problem not on Putin. but on me explaining to his people that. because of this diesel prices in America. are going up. That is completely untrue. and I don't understand. I have a good. relationship with him with Trump and I. think it's wrong and unacceptable that. he pins Russia's aggression and Russia's.

killings on me. He is shifting the. context and that's not fair. And that's. why I honestly said that's unfair. Ceasefire. He says it's not work. They. can't work it out. Well, if you can't. work it out, but you need diesel, though. Again, I think this is just. deflecting uh the focus away from Iran. from what's happening in the Middle. East. The entire volume is blocked over. there. That's exactly where nothing is. working out. Energy, the straight of. Hormuz is blocked. That's the root of.

the problem. But everything gets shifted. onto us. and I'm made the target as the. leader of our country. So I said, "Okay, you can't force Putin to stop the war. and make an energy truce. Give me air. defense missiles. I won't fire at anyone. I'll protect our. energy sector. So where am I being. unfair? In what way?" I asked him, "Give. us missiles." Not for free. Again, not. even for free. Europeans are funding.

this, funding all of it. There's an. agreement, but he but they won't give. them to us. They say we can't. They give. and have given everything to the Middle. East. Look, it's just kind of well uh it's. just like like well it's unfair. to the Middle East. Uh Patriot missiles. uh with Putin a diesel deal. I'm. expected not to respond to an energy. attack on inside Ukraine and diesel.

prices are rising in America because of. it's it's unfair and you need a. different president. Well, diesel. prices, I guarantee you 100%. Diesel. prices don't depend on the volume that. Russia sells. They just don't. >> And about 76% of Ukrainians say they. wouldn't want an election now, according. to some recent surveys as well. My last. question to you, Mr. for president is. is there a realistic path to the end of. this war? And what does that look like?

A realistic path. Trump can bring Putin to the negotiating. table very easily. because he needs to. The way he talks. about me, President Trump, he needs to adopt that. kind of rhetoric about Putin. Why do you think he's not. >> I don't know. Honestly, I don't know. He's got sanctions on his desk. It. wasn't him voting. Congress voted for.

strong sanctions. He can do it. He could. I don't know why. Maybe they have a. special relationship. Maybe something. else. I can't tell you. I don't know. everything. I can only guess some. economic deals and so on. An old re I. don't know. I don't want to. Well, the. midterms are coming up and I think he. might be a little bit concerned about. energy prices in America, more so than. maybe Ukraine. >> Yeah. Well, uh, look,

diesel prices, I give you a 100%. Diesel prices don't depend on the volume. Russia sells. They don't. Americans. export energy resources. Americans. energy exports aren't banned for. Americans. American companies export. It's interesting. Why do American. companies e export energy? Well, because. how can the president of the United.

States ban private sector exports? Well, I don't think he can. And why would he? It sells and money comes in. Well, just. well do you know how. life time you know all all secrets all. mysteries always come to light. It just. takes time. Time is definitely on the. side of those who are open and ready for.

honest dialogue and fight. Yes. Which. means time will be on our side. What are. your last words. to our audience? You know, >> I hope that it's not last words. >> Last words for today. in my life. >> Last words today. You know, half of our. audience are in America. >> I wish America which finds itself in a. very tough situation. I believe because.

the world has gone crazy. what's. happening with the Russians, with Iran, the fact that people want blood, people. want wars. I wish America would stay a. great nation, be strong, be peaceful, have the chance, someone works, someone. wants to be home with the kids, pray, have a family uh family dinner. I wish. America tranquility, peace, and we're.

grateful for everything America has done. for Ukraine. We won't forget this, >> President. Thank you so much. >> Thank you so much. >> I know you've had a really rough week. and it's been very tough. So, I really. appreciate you taking the time. I've had. everything going on with Starlink and. the internet and. >> all the challenges. So, >> normal. >> Yeah. >> Thank you so much. >> And we really do wish you the best. We. really wish you the best. Okay. Yes. Yes. And I was happy to hear to see you. and to have a dialogue. We had good.

dialogue. I think I think we spoke very. good. So, thank you so much. >> Thank you so much. All the best. Thank. you so much. Thank you. Thank you so. much. >> YouTube have this new crazy algorithm. where they know exactly what video you. would like to watch next based on AI and. all of your viewing behavior. And the. algorithm says that this video is the. perfect video for you. It's different. for everybody looking right now. Check. this video out and I bet you you might. love it.