On Sunday, March 27, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky granted his first major interview to Russian journalists since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Zelensky sat down virtually with Meduza editor-in-chief Ivan Kolpakov, Dozhd television network editor-in-chief Tikhon Dzyadko, journalist and writer Mikhail Zygar (who also asked a question on behalf of Nobel laureate and Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov), and Kommersant special correspondent Vladimir Solovyov (not to be confused with the pro-Kremlin pundit). The interview was conducted over Zoom and lasted roughly 90 minutes.
00:00 (Start of the interview)
0:57 Excuse my bluntness, but is a “final solution to the Zelensky problem” one of the main goals of Russia’s attack on Ukraine?
9:43 Who controls the city of Mariupol right now?
15:20 Why are there so many conflicting reports about the number of casualties? What happens to the bodies of Russian soldiers? Do you have lists of the people who died?
26:56 How has your personal attitude towards Russians changed? Are there still people in Russia whose opinion matters to you? Do you believe Ukrainians and Russians will ever be able to normalize relations?
34:33 Do you support the boycotts against Russia, Russian artists, Russian musicians, and Russian athletes? Do you think they should all be boycotted?
40:42 Has there been any progress in the negotiations? How would you conduct a referendum in postwar conditions?
54:13 A referendum has two possible outcomes: yes or no. If Ukrainians decide, “We don’t want to change our status, we don’t want to be neutral,” will that be it?
56:16 Sources say there is contact between Ukraine and Russia - people close to the late Boris Yeltsin are reportedly taking part in negotiations, while various cultural figures are reportedly representing the Ukrainian side. Are there parallel negotiations happening beyond the talks we’ve been discussing?
1:02:58 Yesterday, the Ukrainian defense minister and foreign affairs minister held a meeting in Warsaw with U.S. President Biden. Did this lead to anything specific, other than more political support? Do you know Biden’s position on the prospect of NATO peacekeepers in Ukraine, and how realistic do you think this proposal is?
1:06:12 Mr. President, I’d like to ask you to comment on the documents published by the Russian Defense Ministry, which Moscow says prove that Ukraine was planning a preemptive strike on the Donbas.
1:10:02 I want to confirm some details about the story with the Russian warship from earlier in the conflict. You gave out posthumous awards to the Ukrainian soldiers who were on Snake Island, I believe. And then it came out that they all survived. What really happened? Did they survive or perish?
1:11:26 Are there bioweapons laboratories in Ukraine?
1:13:46 How would you articulate Ukraine’s current military objective? How do you imagine - if you do imagine it - military victory?
1:16:12 The head of the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic has announced that he intends to hold a referendum on joining with Russia. What do you think about this?
1:18:22 Mr. Zelensky, representatives of your office say you’ve survived roughly a dozen assassination attempts in recent weeks. Can you share any details about these plots?
1:18:56 Is there a message you’d like to share with the citizens of Russia? What would you say to them?
1:26:56 Why do you think Vladimir Putin is doing this? What’s the first thought that comes to your mind to explain it? Why has this happened?