The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, declined to give an interview to American podcaster Lex Fridman in Russian.
The researcher of Ukrainian-Jewish descent suggested conducting the conversation in Russian; however, the Ukrainian leader stated that he did not want to give the Kremlin's ruler, Putin, another chance to assert that Ukrainians and Russians are "one people":
"Today, we faced 73 missile strikes, and people lost their lives. Over 100 drones attacked us today, and this is a daily occurrence. The people attacking us communicate in Russian. They are striking those who were recently told that they are actually protecting Russian speakers."
The president added that he holds no respect for either the current leadership of Russia or its people. He also reminded that at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he addressed Russians in Russian.
"Zero. They are deaf. They do not hear, nor have they ever heard. Some are afraid, others have different reasons. It's like when a person is drowning, and someone walks by because they don't hear, while someone else cries and is afraid to help. It doesn't matter to the person who is drowning. They just want someone to assist," the president explained.
At the same time, Zelensky emphasized that Russian is not banned in Ukraine; the disrespect towards this language has only emerged due to the actions of Russians:
"The message is that we are not one nation. We are not one country."
Zelensky's Interview with Fridman
Recall that recently, the well-known American podcaster announced that he had conducted an interview lasting over three hours with the Ukrainian leader.
Lex Fridman's YouTube channel has 4.46 million subscribers. He recently published an interview with the President of Argentina, Javier Milei.