An Exclusive Interview With Ukraine’s President Zelensky
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What did President Zelensky say about Ukraine’s offensive actions at the start of the interview?
As Russia's war on Ukraine has dragged on, Ukraine has gone on the offensive. Its advanced drones have been hitting deep inside Russia, and it's inflicted major damage to Russia's oil refineries. Ukraine hitting Russia with a massive drone attack over the weekend. It came on the final day of Russian elections. This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. He spoke before other world leaders earlier today. Sometimes it
may seem that Ukraine is focused only on war because we speak about weapons, we speak about defense and sanctions against the aggressor. But Ukrainians did not choose this war. We choose not to die, not to lose our country, our families, not to lose our independence,
our freedom.
The
day before his U.N. speech, Zelensky sat down with The Wall Street Journal's editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker.
Well, now I feel very much put upon that I'm going to have to try and say... How do I say it?
Lascavo.
Lascavo.
Proximo.
Proximo.
It's been welcome.
Well, indeed, welcome. Thank you
very much for being here. A
very good pronunciation.
During their conversation, Tucker asked Zelensky about the possibility of a ceasefire on striking energy infrastructure, what Ukraine needs to get through the winter, and how the nation is handling the stress after nearly five years of war. Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Ryan Knudson. It's Wednesday, September 23rd. Coming up on the show, an exclusive interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
After attending the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Zelensky met with President Donald Trump. During the meeting, Zelensky asked Trump for an aid package of military equipment to help Ukraine survive the winter. A few hours after that meeting, Zelensky spoke with Emma Tucker at a Wall Street Journal event. Here's an edited version of their conversation.
Like I said, delighted to have you here. It's
a great honor.
Thank you for joining us. I know you're very, very, you've had a very busy day, including a meeting with President Trump. What can you tell us about that meeting?
So I'm very thankful that we had the opportunity to speak about almost everything. Not everything, but the main things, what we really need and what we can count, how to bring peace closer, about winter, winter packages, how to defend our people. And it's also very difficult to speak when you know that at this moment there is attack on Europe.
How did Zelensky describe his meeting with President Trump and the requested “winter package”?
native country people and that's why it's i mean this this balance to hold this balance is not simple we spoke about energy ceasefire and food security
one thing i wanted to ask you was did he ask you again to stop bombing russian refineries
not today yes so uh No, no, if really, I mean, so it's not a secret that American partners raised this topic and between us before President Trump. To be honest, it's, you know, it's time to time. It's raising and the topic is increasing when there is some deficit and etc. But our, you know, it's we respond. We have to be strong and we have to show Putin that he's not alone on this planet, even if it's his dream. And that's why he has to respect people. People, how Russians can respect people? Only, it's a pity, but it's only when you show that you are strong, they don't respect weakness. Even sometimes when people want to be weak, it's normal for people to be weak, to live, to spend time, to love children.
Yes, but now you have to demonstrate. With Russians, you have to demonstrate. That's why you have to respond. They take our electricity, we have to respond on their painful moments. I mean, some sensitive moments like energy. That's why our signal is next. that ceasefire on energy, it doesn't matter what energy you use or your people use. So ceasefire on energy, it's time to end the war. Yes, to show something de-escalating.
So I want to talk about the prospects for an energy ceasefire in a minute, but just to go back to the Ukrainian attacks on the Russian refineries, did the president bring up the specific issue of diesel prices?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What did President Zelensky say about Ukraine’s offensive actions at the start of the interview?
0:05–3:24
2
How did Zelensky describe his meeting with President Trump and the requested “winter package”?
3:24–6:46
3
What is Zelensky’s position on an energy cease‑fire and targeting Russian refineries?
6:46–9:45
4
Did Zelensky say Russia’s leader truly understands the battlefield situation?
9:45–12:49
5
What technologies and winter‑time equipment does Ukraine say it needs from the United States?
12:49–15:18
6
Why does Zelensky want to meet Elon Musk and how does SpaceX factor into Ukraine’s defense?
15:18–18:37
7
Did President Trump ask Zelensky to withdraw support for the International Criminal Court?
18:37–20:25
8
How does Zelensky cope with the personal stress of leading a country at war?
20:25–23:13