Can Ukraine Win? Zelensky and Christiane Amanpour Discuss

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, INTERNATIONAL HOST: Mr. President, you said that with the will and with all the gear you could win. I’ve been speaking to American generals, others who said you can win, but it depends on the will of politicians in your allied nations, in the United States and, and everywhere else. As you know, there is a stalling in the United States Congress. The Republican led House will not address the huge weapons bill that the president is trying to get to you. Some of them may be here. What would you say to your Republican colleagues in the United States? Anybody who’s blocking that bill?

ZELENSKY: Yes, I will have meeting with centers today. We have — I think we will have detail speech with detail. They have to understand what’s going on. And I think that’s it. I don’t want to push such message to United States because they did a lot for us. Did a lot. I see Nancy Pelosi. Thank you so much. We did together a lot. Thank you from our people, from all our heart. Thank you so much. Just we have to work in one joint team. That is the answer. If Ukraine will be alone, you have to understand what will be. Russia will destroy us, destroy Baltic, destroy Poland. And they can do it. Yesterday, I had very interesting, very useful, I think, dialogues with German government and also with France partners. And I said very clearly and very honestly, if you will remind that, what was going on in Ukraine in 2014, our people were not ready for the war, for the quick occupation of Crimea, part of Donbass. And then during almost eight years, people began to be ready for such aggression. Not only with a weapon, it’s not a question of weapon. You’re ready psychologically. That’s why senators have to understand, only in unity we can win Russia, and they have to understand that we will win, with them or not. We don’t have any other way, we have only one land, our Ukraine.

AMANPOUR: Mr. President, you are outmanned, and you always say this, there are a huge, huge advantage in terms of numbers of Russian forces. There is a question of potentially you signing a law or changing the draft and the conscription and lowering the age from 27 to 25. Are you going to do that?

ZELENSKY (through translator): It’s a comprehensive and complicated question. It’s a question about how fair recruitment should be. The most important issue is rotation of the people who are very tired at the front line physically. Any person, not only Ukraine is — it doesn’t really matter what nation you belong to, if you are tired, you have to go back, you have to be restored, and somebody else would replace you. Another professional soldier who has been trained during a certain period of time and mobilization recruitment depends on that also. How many people have on the front, how many reserves you have and why you need that for defending operation some number of brigades for — they began to translate me. Yes, it’s difficult. So, for counteroffensive, you need another number of brigades. So, the question on mobilization, it’s a complicated thing. Yes. And I can’t share with you the number of victims and casualties. But for example, if you will, when we speak that they have too much people, and you have to know, for example, in Avdiivka, I just comparing the number, one to seven. It’s a pity that I’m — but for one death of Ukrainians, seven deaths of Russians, one to seven. So, I’m not comparing this war and I don’t want and it’s a tragedy even to lose one person, but we didn’t begin it. So, that’s — but you have to know, we have to understand what was going on in this small city.