Putin's bare backside, nonsense, and negotiations.
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky gave an extensive three-hour interview to American podcaster Lex Fridman. The discussion covered many significant topics, most of which revolved around the war, negotiations with Russia, and the role of Donald Trump. Volodymyr Zelensky was candid and resorted to sharp criticism, mentioning the Budapest Memorandum, the Minsk agreements, and at times describing the actions of partners as "bullshit."
ZAXID.NET reviewed the interview and noted the key points. It is worth mentioning that Lex Fridman requested Zelensky to conduct the interview in Russian, a language they both speak fluently, but he was declined. We will begin our summary from the section about language.
If you don't have time to listen to the three-hour conversation, which is undoubtedly intriguing, we offer you a brief summary of the interview.
“These people are deaf and started the occupation under the pretext of protecting the Russian language; I sincerely despise them”
I speak Russian fluently, of course, and I understand everything you are talking about (the request to conduct the interview in Russian, – ed.), but I cannot respond to you in Russian for the entire interview. Today… I’m not inventing anything; you see it all. Today, there were 73 missile strikes against us, people died, and there were over 100 drones. This is a daily story. The ones attacking are people who speak Russian. They are striking people who were recently told that they are actually protecting Russian speakers. I have no respect for either the leader of today's Russia or this people. I don't think you can simply pretend that nothing is happening and pass the ball for Putin to say once again that we are one people, that we speak the same language. They speak the language of weapons. This is a fact. And we are peaceful people who want to protect and are protecting our freedom and our human choice.
You know, at the beginning of the war, I addressed Russians in Russian. Zero. They are mute. They do not hear. They have their reasons for being silent. It’s like when a person is drowning, and someone walks by because they don’t hear. And some pass by, crying and afraid to save. It doesn’t matter to that drowning person; they just want someone to help. Therefore, since these people are deaf and started the occupation ostensibly to protect the Russian language, I sincerely despise them.
Lex Fridman said in the conversation: “Sometimes it is said that the Russian language is banned in Ukraine.” To which Volodymyr Zelensky replied: “This is not true. We have people who speak Russian. Today, we have disrespect towards the Russian language because of Russians. And only because of that. When they were saving Russian speakers, they killed many Russian speakers, most of whom are in the east. They destroyed their lives. This is true. It is not just rhetoric. This is a very important point. The message is that we are not one nation. We are, you know, not one country.”
“My grandfather would never have believed that this war was possible”
My grandfather was at war from the very beginning of World War II, in the infantry. He had, as they used to say, his whole chest full of orders. More than thirty awards. He did not like to talk about the details of the war. He believed that war is a great tragedy. And a tragedy for everyone. And a tragedy for Ukraine, and a tragedy for Europe, and a tragedy for the Jewish people.
In general, his relatives, all his family were shot. They were tortured by the Nazis, who occupied Ukraine, their village. His father was the head of the village and was killed. His four brothers all went to war. He was the only one with a military education. They all died in the war, and he was the only one who returned. And he found my grandmother, his future wife.
I think my grandfather would never have believed that this war was possible. After the war, he worked in the police. He was a colonel and worked his whole life in criminal investigation.
When asked by Lex Fridman how Volodymyr Zelensky understands World War II after the 2022 invasion, the president replied: First of all, the war actually began earlier. I think I perceived the beginning of this full-scale war… You don’t understand why no one wants to hear, see, and analyze history. The war, the birth of fascism, of Nazism, the birth of Hitler, Goebbels, and all that team, which was not only connected by one party, one country at that time. So this is, in principle, such a wave. A wave of hatred, a wave of “one race above all.” This is the theory they built, capturing Europe afterward. They built the theory of one nation, one race, one world. Their world. Undoubtedly, a senseless idea, absolutely, but it radicalized over the years and even gained support. The Russian world and the theory that Putin imposes. He wasn’t like this in his rhetoric. At first, remember, he talked about the EU and that Russia’s future could be linked with NATO. He talked about common values with the West. And we should also pay attention to Hitler, who had radical ideas about the absorption of the world. There were real steps, and everyone thought he was raising the economy, and in fact, he was making some moves, but he was a terrible person. This does not justify any of his actions. We cannot look at World War II as if it began in 1939; it did not start in 1941. We must draw conclusions from where it all started. From the weakness of the world, the division of European states, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. All of this happened before 1941. So all the people who were deeper, who were more informed, all the people who understood a little more… People were shouting about all this. Hitler will not stop, this will be a world war, Hitler will destroy nations. And that’s how it was. Some turned a blind eye. What I told you. Europe was drowning, but the whole world walked by and ignored, saying that he could be negotiated with, that he was normal.
“We will impose sanctions if he kills. This is bullshit”
This is not the first such case in history. We have a history with a person who is allowed to be sick with this desire to destroy. And derive pleasure from it. That’s what happened with Hitler. What is happening with Putin. By the way, also around four in the morning, there were missile strikes on Ukraine; this coincides. I believe that the intentions coincide, but more on that later. Prior to this, it must be said honestly, everyone was predicting something. I asked only one thing, primarily from the USA. If you are sure, if you have evidence, if you talk to him and he tells you that there will be an invasion. If all of this scares you, I am not asking for evidence. Give me two things: support us with weapons, but most importantly, provide us with conditions so that there is no war at all. It’s not about weapons first. That’s what I asked them for sanctions, in other words, scare him. Don’t say, please, that if he comes, if he crosses the borders, will kill, we will impose sanctions. This is bullshit. Sorry.
We did not receive assistance, and if we think that words are assistance, then we received a lot of them.
About the conversation with Lukashenko
A few days after the beginning of the full-scale war, I spoke with Lukashenko on the phone. And he apologized, saying that it wasn’t him. “Missiles were launched from my territory, and Putin launched them,” those were his words. I have witnesses. He said he was sorry. “Well, believe me, Volodya, it’s not me; I don’t control.” I remember this conversation; I told him that he is just as much a murderer. And he replied that you cannot fight with Russians. I told him that we never fought. The war, missiles flew, I said, from your land, from Belarus, how did you allow this? “Well, alright, respond in kind,” he told me. I still remember, he told me to strike the oil refinery; it means a lot to him. Mozyr or something?