Putin has already started World War 3 and needs to be stopped, Zelensky tells the BBC

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. BBC Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a firm stance of defiance, said that, far from losing, his country would end the war victorious. ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp When we met this weekend at the government headquarters in Kiev, he stated that he was completely against paying the price for a ceasefire agreement demanded by President Vladimir Putin, which would imply the withdrawal of strategic areas that Russia was unable to capture, despite sacrificing tens of thousands of soldiers. Putin, Zelensky said, has already started World War III, and the only response would be intense military and economic pressure to force him to back down. “I believe Putin has already started it [3ª Guerra Mundial]. The question is how much territory he will be able to take and how to stop him… Russia wants to impose a different way of life on the world and change the lives that people have chosen for themselves,” said Zelensky. See the videos that are trending on g1 What about Russia’s demand that Ukraine hand over the 20% of the eastern Donetsk region that it still controls — a line of cities that Ukraine calls “fortress cities” — as well as more territory in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia? Wouldn’t that, I asked, be a reasonable request if it resulted in a ceasefire? I don’t look at it simply as land. I see it as abandonment — weakening our positions, abandoning hundreds of thousands of our citizens who live there. That’s how I see it. And I’m sure this ‘withdrawal’ would divide our society.” But wouldn’t it be an acceptable price if it satisfied President Putin? Do you think it would satisfy him? “It would probably satisfy him for a while… He needs a break… But once recovered, our European partners say it could take three to five years. In my opinion, he could recover in no more than a year or two. Where would you go next? We don’t know, but he would like to continue [a guerra] It’s a fact.” I met Volodymyr Zelensky in a conference room inside the heavily guarded government complex in an affluent area of central Kiev. In the interview, he spoke mainly in Ukrainian. The weight of leadership Zelensky carries is notable for the diligence of his security agents. Visiting any head of state requires rigorous checks. But entering the presidential buildings in Kiev elevates the process to a level I have rarely experienced. Not surprising in a country at war, with a president who has already been targeted. of Russia. The government complex in Kiev is heavily guarded. Fred Scott/BBC Despite all this, the man who started out as an artist — who won the Ukrainian version of Strictly Come Dancing. [programa de televisão britânico de competição de dança] in 2006 and played an unexpected president of Ukraine in a TV comedy before becoming president in real life—seems remarkably resilient. US President Donald Trump said on the eve of the most recent ceasefire talks in Geneva that “Ukraine needs to come to the table quickly.” He continues to exert more pressure on Ukraine than on Russia. Western diplomats have indicated since last summer that Trump agrees with Putin that Ukraine’s territorial concessions to Russia are key to the ceasefire he wants — ideally before next summer. Many analysts outside the White House also assess that Ukraine cannot win the war and that, without making concessions to Moscow, it will end up defeated. I asked Zelensky if Trump and the others were right. “Where are you now?” Zelensky replied. “Today you are in Kiev, you are in the capital of our homeland, you are in Ukraine. I am very grateful for that. Are we going to lose? Of course not, because we are fighting for the independence of Ukraine.” Zelensky often says that Ukraine can win, but what would that victory look like? He said victory would mean restoring normal life to Ukrainians and putting an end to the killings. But the broader vision he presented was about the global threat that he said emanated from Putin. “I believe that stopping Putin today and preventing him from occupying Ukraine is a victory for the whole world. Because Putin will not stop in Ukraine.” Putin promises to develop Russia’s nuclear forces: ‘Absolute priority’ Tension in negotiations for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine You’re not saying that victory is recovering all the territory, are you? “We’re going to do it. That’s absolutely clear. It’s just a matter of time. Doing it today would mean losing enormous numbers of people — millions — because the Army [russo] is large and we understand the cost of such measures. There wouldn’t be enough people, we would be losing them. And what is land without people? Honestly, nothing.” “We don’t have enough weapons either. This depends not just on us, but on our partners. Therefore, at the moment this is not possible, but returning to the fair borders of 1991 [ano em que a Ucrânia declarou sua independência, precipitando o colapso final da União Soviética]without a doubt, it is not just a victory, it is justice. A victory for Ukraine is the preservation of our independence, and a victory for justice for the entire world is the return of all our lands.” A year ago, Zelensky visited the White House and received what a senior Western diplomat described as a public “diplomatic lynching” previously planned by Donald Trump and his vice president, JD Vance. The confrontation, in front of the world’s media, was watched by millions. Trump publicly rebuked Zelensky at the White House in February 2025. Getty Images via BBC Trump, recém-empossado para seu segundo mandato, enviava o sinal mais forte possível de que a era de apoio à Ucrânia sob o presidente Joe Biden havia terminado. Os membros da Otan já haviam sido alertados pela nova administração. Vance retornara recentemente de uma viagem em que abalou ilusões da Europa Ocidental sobre a solidez da aliança transatlântica. Desde então, segundo relatos, orientado entre outros pelo assessor de segurança nacional do Reino Unido, Jonathan Powell, Zelensky evitou confrontos públicos com Trump. O presidente americano suspendeu quase todos military aid shipments to Ukraine. Still, the U.S. continues to provide vital intelligence, and European countries spend billions buying weapons from Americans to pass on to Ukraine. war, that’s it.” But can you trust President Trump? If you get a security guarantee from him, I asked, will he keep his word? After all, he is a man who changes his position. “This isn’t just about President Trump, we’re talking about the United States. We are all presidents for determined terms. We want guarantees for 30 years, for example. Political elites will change, leaders will change.” He meant that US security guarantees would need to be approved by Congress in Washington to become legally sound. “They will be voted on in Congress for a reason. It’s not just about presidents. Congress is necessary. Because presidents change, but institutions remain.” In other words, Donald Trump may be unpredictable, but he won’t be there forever. Zelensky says those security guarantees would need to be in place before he could consider another American demand — that Ukraine hold general elections by the summer, echoing another Russian argument that he would be an illegitimate president. Trump did not demand elections in Russia, where Putin first assumed leadership on the last day of the 20th century. Zelensky said he has not decided whether to return to concorrer, quando houver eleição: “Posso concorrer ou não.” As eleições estavam previstas para 2024, mas não puderam ser realizadas sob a lei marcial introduzida após a invasão em larga escala da Rússia. Realizar eleições adiadas, afirmou Zelensky, seria tecnicamente possível se houvesse tempo para alterar a lei e permitir sua realização. Mas ele precisa primeiro de garantias de segurança para a Ucrânia. Ele listou tantos problemas potenciais para realizar uma eleição com milhões de ucranianos no exterior como refugiados e partes significativas do país ocupadas pela Rússia que I suggested that, in practice, he was against the idea. “If that is a condition for ending the war, let’s do it. I said, ‘honestly, you constantly raise the issue of elections.’ I told the partners: ‘You need to decide one thing: do you want to get rid of me or do you want to hold elections? Se querem realizar eleições (mesmo que não estejam prontos para me dizer isso honestamente agora), então realizem essas eleições de forma honesta. Carry them out in such a way that the Ukrainian people recognize them, first of all. And you yourselves must recognize that these are legitimate elections.'” Volodymyr Zelensky has opponents and harsh critics in Ukraine. His government was rocked last fall by a corruption scandal that led to the departure of his closest adviser. Still, with a new team, Zelensky maintains approval ratings that most Western European leaders could only hope for. He has angered allies at times with constant demands for more and better equipment. One of the accusations leveled against him in the Oval Office by Trump and Vance, há um ano, foi a de que não demonstrava gratidão suficiente. O item mais recente de sua lista é autorização para fabricar armas americanas sob licença, incluindo mísseis de defesa aérea Patriot. “Hoje a questão é a defesa aérea. This is the most difficult problem. Infelizmente, nossos parceiros ainda não nos concedem licenças para produzir sistemas por conta própria, por exemplo, sistemas Patriot, ou mesmo mísseis para os sistemas que já temos. So far, we haven’t been successful at that.” Why don’t they do that? “I don’t know. Não tenho resposta.” Ao final da entrevista, ele passou do ucraniano para o inglês. Diante de tudo o que havia dito, perguntei se deveríamos nos preparar para uma guerra ainda mais longa na Ucrânia. “Não, não, não, são duas trilhas paralelas… você está jogando xadrez com muitos líderes, não com a Rússia. There is no single right way. It is necessary to choose many parallel steps, many parallel directions. And one of these parallel paths, I believe, will bring success. Para nós, sucesso é deter Putin.” Mas Vladimir Putin não vai encerrar esta guerra, vai? A menos que esteja sob pressão massiva — e ele não parece estar. “Sim e não. We’ll see. Yes and no. He doesn’t want to, but not wanting to doesn’t mean he won’t do it. God blesses. God bless, we will succeed. Thank you.” And with that, he posed for photos, shook hands with the BBC team and strode out of the room.

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