The reaction to stuffing about the alleged attack on Transnistria
“(After the meeting in Brussels, – ed.) It took them two weeks for an information attack. Now they are throwing in that the situation is on the contact line of Pridnestrovie and Ukraine, they say that they see some shots. They are throwing information through the media that that Ukraine is going to enter the territory of Transnistria. Why are they doing this? They understand that we clearly respect the territorial integrity of Moldova … They provoke constantly. At the very beginning of the war, there were shots from the territory of Transnistria in our direction, they wanted us to enter. And I told Moldova to think about how to solve this situation,” Zelensky said.
Russia can go further. For example, in Moldova
“Unfortunately, yes, I believe that this is possible. Why? Look, President Putin needs to be shown victories. There will be no success on the battlefield in Ukraine, there will be no mass revenge, at least we will fight. And everyone understands that success maybe where there is a weak point and it is desirable that these be the countries that were under the influence of Moscow back in Soviet times, conflicts and separate institutions. And here is the example of Moldova,” Zelensky said.
“Australian Ambassador to return on Bushmaster”
“I would really like to shake hands with the Australian Ambassador. Come back, but on a Bushmaster (armored vehicles that have already been supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine – ed.). We need more Bushmasters,” the president joked.
About Israel’s help
“Ukraine has historically excellent relations with Israel. We had many conversations at different levels, with different leadership, public, non-public, in different formats and on different territories. And it was difficult to change the position, because Israel has a difficult situation with Russia, Iran, Syria. But I really wanted them not to be a mediator, but to choose the side of Ukraine. I can’t imagine how Israel can support the war … I know all the answers to your questions, but I can’t give them to you, because I cannot substitute the improvement of relations between Ukraine and Israel, which have begun,” Zelensky stressed.
Questions about Reznikov and Budanov are not publicly discussed
“I don’t discuss those or other decisions that I make at Headquarters that relate to individuals or the security and defense of our state. One of these decisions is the situation in some regions and some institutions, where I had thoughts not purely to this ministry, but to the infrastructure that should ensure our security, strengthen it with military or intelligence officers, or employees. This applies to the situation in some border regions and that’s all. And in this mode, I discussed this issue. If I wanted to appoint our chief minister of defense intelligence officer, then we would do it only by the steps of our legislation,” he said.
Erdogan can put Putin at the negotiating table? Now we’re not ready
“I am grateful for Erdogan’s initiatives, grains and the like. I know how he helped with the Azov people, and I am grateful for it. Erdogan did several things that are important for Ukraine. I am grateful for this … He knows my position, we spoke about this even before the war. I told him – put Putin at the negotiating table, the risk of a full-scale war cannot be allowed. But he could not do this, and not only him. And now he believes that he can. Now we cannot. This is not the same already people (we are talking about Putin – ed.). There is no one to talk to,” the president said.
Supply of Chinese weapons to Russia will lead to the Third world war
“I want to believe that China will be on the side of a just world, which means – on our side. I really want to believe that China will not supply weapons to Russia. And for me this is very important, point number 1 for me … Better there, where is China now than in the arms of the Russian Federation, because it is not fair and not fair. And these are the risks that there will be a Third World War,” Zelensky stressed.
Without the de-occupation of the Kherson and Kharkov regions, there would be no Western tanks
Zelensky noted that until the fall, Western partners did not even want to hear about the supply of NATO-style tanks for Ukraine.
“Then we found the moment, the key. And we did something in the fall. Something very important, where we showed that we are capable of reclaiming land. It was a very important de-occupation of the Kharkiv region, and then the Kherson region and Kherson. These were very important steps. Without this, we would not have been successful in other types of weapons,” he said.
What will happen to Russia?
“Honestly, I don’t care. They have their own state and they should think about their state. If they thought about their country, there would be no war. If they just thought about their freedom of speech, democracy, economic reforms, people so that they would not be poor, that they would not have slavery, and so on, they would be a rich state. That’s all, but all this takes time. When do we think about the occupation of some state? We think about ourselves, ” – said the president.
On whether he is Putin’s #1 target
A spokesman for German TV asked if the trips abroad meant Zelensky now feels safer and less of a priority target for Putin.
“It seemed to me that the Germans are more informed about Putin’s thoughts than I am. But nevertheless … What am I doing? My task as president is in no case to allow weakening of support for Ukraine,” he replied.
Zelensky on compromises and negotiations with Russia
The President ruled out the possibility of compromise after all the war crimes of Russia.
“Let’s start from the very beginning, from what you violated. The first point is respect our right to live on our land, get off our land, stop bombing us and stop killing civilians, killing all our infrastructure, energy, drinking water. Stop bombing cities, villages, killing dogs, cats, burning forests… You stop all this, and then we will tell you in what format we will diplomatically put an end to it,” Zelensky added.
“The war in Ukraine started the reset of NATO”
“The war in Ukraine started a reboot of NATO. That’s right, everyone checked it and realized that the systems are imperfect, more powerful things are needed. I’m not talking about shells, a lot of money is allocated for cyberspace, drones, IT, and so on … I think it’s going reforming the state of defense systems, because everyone saw what to expect from the Russian Federation,” the president said.
On China’s “peace plan”
“It seems to me that this was not a “peace plan”, not a resolution, not a declaration and not an infrastructure for something. It seems to me that China showed its thoughts. I have already said that China began to talk about Ukraine, I think “What is very good. The question is what is behind the words? During the war, we must understand – words are words, but the question is in the steps, it is especially important what they will lead to and what will be the result for us,” Zelensky said.
Who supports Ukraine the most
“(on the issue of a special tribunal – ed.) we see the leadership of the Netherlands. We are working with Rishi Sunak, with the UK and other countries. We are working on a compensation mechanism, there are already first steps in the USA. And our Baltic friends are very powerful. To be honest, The Baltic Troika and Poland support us in everything, no matter what we ask. But we are not asking for stupid things, it’s true,” the president said.
“No one likes losers, you have to plow – this is the only chance to win”
“We worked on the unification of Europe, there are countries with different statuses, there are neutral ones. We worked to change this neutrality to non-neutrality for war … And the Armed Forces worked on this, because victories on the battlefield give confidence, no one likes losers “No matter how it sounds, but it’s true, everyone wants to be winners. That’s all. And everyone has to plow inside the country and outside, this is the only chance to win,” Zelensky added.
How will Ukraine come to a diplomatic fixation of the end of the war?
“The approach is very simple, so that there is less risk of reducing the number of countries that support us. This or that country can support one point of the “peace formula” … There is a fixation of peace or the end of the war, there is this point. We need security guarantees … for the whole of Europe. And when there is fulfillment and respect for the people, for Ukraine, if this is carried out, we will still reach the diplomatic fixation of the end of the war. But before that, all points of respect must be fulfilled,” the President said.
India and China should be involved in the “peace formula”
“I am working together with the team and partners, so that after all there are not only countries that support us from the first days … I would very much like representatives of the African continent to be involved in the “peace formula” and the summit. To be honest, I would like so that there is India and there is China,” Zelensky stressed.
Ukraine has everything to win in 2023
According to Zelensky, Ukraine does not oppose Russia on its own, it is helped by friends so that aggression does not spread further.
“If we all complete our tasks, victory awaits us. I am sure that there will be victory. I really want this year. We have everything for this – motivation, confidence, friends, diplomacy. We have united all forces against this invasion “, the president said.
Press conference on the results of the war year
The meeting of the head of state with media representatives was announced at the President’s Office the day before it was held. The declared topic of the press conference is the year of Ukraine’s opposition to Russian aggression.
“On Friday, February 24, a press conference will be held by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky “February. The year of indestructibility,” the OP said.
From each media outlet, 1 correspondent, 1 cameraman and 1 photographer could be admitted to accreditation. The exact location and time of the start of the event was not disclosed in advance.
Zelensky’s conferences during the war and before it began
In 2022, the President of Ukraine did not hold large-scale press conferences, but met several times with both Ukrainian and foreign journalists.
On November 16, the head of state spoke with representatives of the Ukrainian media at the President’s Office.
Among the topics were: the fall of a rocket in Poland, blackouts after Russian attacks on critical infrastructure, forecasts of a “difficult winter” for Ukrainians, as well as the possibility of direct negotiations with Putin and security guarantees.
Another press conference by Zelensky during the war was organized at the Maidan Nezalezhnosti metro station.
On April 23, for 2 hours, the president answered questions from journalists about the military assistance of the allies, the tribunal for Putin, the threat of a nuclear strike, the status of Crimea and Donbass, the complexity of the military deblockade of Mariupol.
Prior to the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, the President of Ukraine held several large meetings with media representatives:
- on the occasion of the equator of the cadenza – a 5-hour press marathon “30 questions to the president” in November 2021;
- for two years of presidency in May 2021, a press conference was held at the Antonov plant;
- during quarantine due to COVID-19 in 2020, Zelensky summed up the year of work at a meeting with the media in the courtyard of the Mariinsky Palace;
- in October 2019, the head of Ukraine gave a record press conference – it lasted 14 hours.
