Zelensky’s Interview With Russian Journalists Hints That He’s Prepared for a Very Long War – Opinion

On Sunday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky gave an extensive interview to four Russian journalists; the New York Times calls them “prominent,” but I don’t have any opinion on that score. ZOOM was used as their vehicle. The interview was posted to social media by the journalists. Within a short time, Russia’s government had it removed.

The journalists shared the story on social media after the interview was over, promising to publish it soon. Several hours after that, the Russian telecommunications regulator, Roskomnadzor, released a statement directing Russian news outlets not to publish the interview, and warning that an inquiry had been launched against the reporters involved to “determine their responsibility.”

Even by the standards of contemporary Russia’s arbitrary law enforcement, the statement was remarkable, offering no legal pretext to justify the order not to publish the interview. But in the wake of the law signed by Mr. Putin early this month — potentially punishing news reporting on the Ukraine invasion that deviates from the Kremlin narrative with as much as 15 years in prison — the government directive had an impact.

Meduza has provided a full transcript via Google Translate.

These are the most important items.

Zelensky claims, and the video we’ve seen of combat operations seems to bear this out, that the Ukrainians have attempted to arrange with the Russians for the transfer of bodies of dead Russians back to the Russian Army. According to Zelensky, the Russians refused. Zelensky asserts that Russians are rounded up civilians for bargaining purposes. He claims that the Russians still have many Ukrainians missing from the Donbas land grab of 2014.

Zelensky, when asked about the possibility of normalizing relations between Russia and Ukraine, looks a bit confused but appears to suggest that Ukraine would be more focused on West-oriented issues in the future.

Sergei Loznitsa, a Ukrainian national citizen of ethnic Russian descent, was expelled from the Ukrainian Film Academy. His principled stand against punishing Russian artists for the invasion of Ukraine has been taken. Zelensky opposed the expulsion.

Zelensky claims that Russia deliberately delays negotiations. The only thing that can be negotiated is withdrawing Russian troops, he says. There are two issues: Crimea and fake Donbas. A referendum will determine the result. Ukrainian refugees can vote in any referendum.

It is difficult to translate the discussions about Russian language status because they are so nuanced. Zelensky appears to believe that public school language will continue to be Ukrainian but will allow private Russian schools to use the language. According to Zelensky, any official recognition of Russian as a language requires a modification in Ukraine’s constitution. This decision can only be made through a referendum. I’m guessing after the past month’s events that any such measure will lose in a huge way. Russians seem astonished at the possibility that the referendum will not be approved by the people. It’s amazing. Zelensky points out that the Russian language has been losing its popularity in Ukraine, as well as other ex-Soviet Republics. Putin appears to believe he can stop this trend with force.

Other than the interview taking place and being promptly censored by the Russian government, there wasn’t a lot of news made. It is obvious that Zelensky’s negotiating position has not changed (Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Reaches Its Culmination Point and Zelensky Plays Hardball in the Peace Negotiations) in the past week. These are undoubtedly signs of the military’s success on the Ukrainian battlefield as well as the status of the negotiations with NATO countries and EU for assistance. Importantly, Zelensky has not offered Putin anything he had requested. Zelensky will not be resigning. It is unlikely that the Ukrainian Army will be disbanded. In fact, they will continue to grow and become better equipped. Zelensky is against any status change in Donbass or Crimea that does not require a referendum. Russian will not be elevated to “official language” status without a referendum changing the constitution. It’s difficult to agree on a basis for negotiation.