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Zelenskyy now calls out the US and US representatives in Riyadh for describing Russian illegal invasion of Ukraine as "a conflict," and not "simply a war by Putin against us." "This softens it," he says. He says he had similar conversation with the previous US administration, when he "fought" against an official paper describing the war "as a conflict." "There was an attempted shift in the policy to soften the terms to describe what Putin is doing against us, and we are standing up for Ukraine's rights here. There's nothing terrible, but we must recognise what's happening," he says.
Zelenskyy says the US "have helped Putin to come out of isolation" which he says was "completely fair because of their full scale invasion" on Ukraine. He also rebukes Trump's comments that most of Ukraine's support comes from the US. "The truth is somewhere else," he says, but adds he remains "grateful for the support" and wants "the Trump team to have true facts." "This isn't positive for Ukraine. What it does is that they're bringing Putin out of isolation, and the Russians are happy because the discussion focuses on them," he says. He adds that Russia seems to be presenting itself "as a victim, and that is something new."
"Unfortunately, President Trump, with all due respect for him as the leader of a nation that we respect greatly … is living in this disinformation space," he says.
Zelenskyy says he will look into collecting more data on trust in key global leaders to counter Russian disinformation, as he says he warns against "the misinformation circle around President Trump," which he says includes representatives linked with Hungarian and Slovak governments. "This is all concerning. Everything they are doing is to make sure that Ukraine is weak," he says.
He says that there was "a strong message given to Europe from Ukraine" in his meetings with European leaders in recent days, and more meetings are coming, including in the UK, "in the next few weeks." He says the conversation focuses on "what Europe is prepared to do to help Ukraine if there is a reduction in the assistance from the US or something else," as he stresses that "we must count on an allied position in Europe." He says there are plans for an hybrid meeting on the anniversary of the full-scale invasion on 24 February and gives comments on his conversations with the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, floating the suggestion that Ankara could potentially provide security guarantees for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy disputes Trump's suggestions that the US has given Ukraine $500bn and opposes the idea of "giving back in minerals" through a mineral exploration agreement, saying "that is not a serious conversation." But he says he is prepared to work "on a serious document," if it contains "security guarantees." "OK, let's do a deal. Let's share [it], depending on the investment … but we need security guarantees," he says.
He says that he is prepared to make the US proposal public, although notes that "I do not think this will help our relations." "This document is not ready. It is outside my powers, outside the constitution and the laws of Ukraine, something [about the jurisdiction being] under the New York law," he says. But, crucially, "there is not a word about security guarantees."
In a pointed comment pushing back on Trump's references to polling, Zelenskyy says that making all concessions to Russia is supported by just one percent of the Ukrainian population. "That answers all questions," he says. He says Russia remains "the guilty party," and you "cannot launder them like money" and "whitewash" their responsibility for the war.
He challenges Kellogg to go out and talk to Ukrainians to ask them what they think of Trump's comments: "Let him talk to the people. Do they trust their own president, or do they trust Putin? Let him ask about Trump, what do people think about Trump after his statements. It's important to just go out and talk to the people. Let him choose where he goes. He has his ambassador here. It is important for him to see for himself what's happening. And then I am ready to go to the frontline with him. We will go, let him talk to the military."
Zelenskyy gets asked about what would make the best security guarantees for Ukraine, and he says that "Nato is the strongest guarantee." He says he doesn't necessarily need US troops with air defence systems, as Ukraine "has our own people to man the systems." "But can we get the licenses for producing missiles or producing parts for the Patriot systems?," he asks. He says that an unnamed city is struggling with air defence at the moment as it ran out of missiles. "That is wrong," he says.
Zelenskyy also says that he is talking with European allies about funding the Ukrainian army. He says he thinks the EU is ready for these talks, but adds that he will have to "work on alternatives, too." He also says that Ukraine would be prepared to buy weapons from the US, as he says "the allow the Middle East to buy weapons from them."
Zelenskyy says that Ukraine is "much stronger than at the beginning of the invasion," rejecting narratives about the Ukrainian "failure to resist and the Russians occupying [everything] and being a strong army." He also says that Ukraine is more self-sufficient, producing "30% of everything we need."
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