Zelenskyy doesn’t mince words about Trump

Marc Filippino (0:02)

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Marc Filippino (0:33)

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Over the past two days, Ukrainian defense officials say that they've been at a serious disadvantage in the ongoing war with Russia. There have been massive gaps in the intelligence they usually receive from their Western partners, and as a result, Russia has been able to strike Kiev with devastating effect. All this comes just days after US President Donald Trump threatened to cut off arms to Ukraine. The FT's Alec Russell just spoke with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and joins me now. Hi Alec.

Alec Russell (1:10)

Hello Marc.

Marc Filippino (1:11)

So you met with Zelenskyy in London. What was he doing there, Alec?

Alec Russell (1:15)

So Zelenskyy has just been to see the British Prime Minister and the King indeed, and he's on his way to Brussels to speak to European leaders. To be clear, Zelenskyy is in a difficult position.

He's also enraged. He was very, very combative in his interview with us.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy (1:34)

Putin is an enemy for us, and he is a real evil of today. I mean, absolutely.

Alec Russell (1:41)

He was very outspoken about the nature of Donald Trump's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy (1:49)

How Trump can befriend with him? I think that it's a mistake. It's his choice.

Alec Russell (1:54)

I think he was more openly critical of Donald Trump than I remember ever, actually. He said, look, Trump likes autocratic people who stay in power for 20, 30 years or so. He did not use the word autocratic, but that's exactly what he was saying. He said Trump likes rich people. He also said that this is also to do with business deals in the energy sector, gas, oil, and so on.

Marc Filippino (2:21)

Yeah. Speaking of, that's a sector that had a lot of updates lately. A few days ago, Trump announced a surprise deal with Putin that will release Russian diesel into the global market.

He also claimed that Putin and Zelenskyy agreed to a supposed energy ceasefire. Did you talk to Zelenskyy about that?

Alec Russell (2:38)

We talked a lot about this because obviously it's immensely important. I mean, Zelenskyy clearly regards the American move to effectively lift sanctions on Russian diesel as despicable.

What he did say was he said that actually for the last three days, he, Zelenskyy had made clear to his military chiefs that they should not be hitting Russian refineries.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy (3:01)

I said that, look, don't attack energy. They will say that we broke energy ceasefire. I don't want to play this game. That's why three days, we didn't attack any energy, diesel and et cetera systems of Russia, and three days, they attack us.

Alec Russell (3:18)

He said that all the while, the Russians had been hitting Ukraine as hard as ever, if not harder than in recent times.

Marc Filippino (3:27)

Alec, is it fair to say that he was in London and then moving on to Brussels to try and shore up support because he doesn't feel like the US is a valid source of support anymore?

Alec Russell (3:38)

I don't think he wants to give up on American support at all. And he absolutely hasn't given up on the Trump administration, of course. But what he did make clear was that the support of Europe is now as important as it has ever been. Ensuring up Europe support is immensely important to him.

Marc Filippino (3:58)

Alec, what are you expecting him to say to Brussels? And do you think that Brussels will be responsive?

Alec Russell (4:02)

I think he's just going to have to say what he's been saying pretty much consistently in the last few years, that this is Europe's fight, that the war is coming to Europe whether Europe likes it or not, that there have been drones landing in Moldova, in Romania, there have been strange drone incidents in airports, in other countries, and that Europe has to face up to the fact that this is not just about defending Ukraine, but it's also about defending Europe. Fundamentally, it's going to be a message of heart and soul and saying this war is at a slightly bleak phase at the moment and he wants to remind people why they have to support Ukraine.