President Zelenskyy’s Candid Interview with Piers Morgan: War, Elections, Negotiations with Putin, US Aid, and Security Guarantees

There can be no compromise on the sovereignty of the state, Ukraine cannot recognise the occupied territories as Russian, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Piers Morgan.

Ukraine needs strong security guarantees, not ad hoc agreements that Russia will not honour. 

‘We will definitely not go to Minsk-3. These are not security guarantees for Ukraine. We need guarantees, because guarantees are important for everyone,’ Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

He stressed that the best guarantee is Ukraine's membership in NATO.

‘NATO is a guarantee that Putin is unlikely to attack us again. NATO is a guarantee for NATO countries that they will be reinforced by a Ukrainian contingent of hundreds of thousands of people. And this is a strong NATO army. This is very important for everyone. NATO is a guarantee for the Russians that Ukraine will not eventually go to war with them, but will resolve all issues exclusively through diplomacy. That's why I said that NATO is a guarantee for everyone. Stable and cheaper,’ Zelenskyy said.

He clarified that during the full-scale Russian invasion, 45,100 Ukrainian servicemen were killed and 390,000 were wounded. At the same time, the President noted that it is still impossible to accurately indicate the number of missing persons, according to him, ‘there are thousands of them.’

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also stressed that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is seeking to put his ‘puppet’ in charge of Ukraine, as he did in Belarus, Georgia, and Chechnya, in order to prevent our country from taking a pro-Western path. 

‘They influenced the Ukrainian parliament and did everything to ensure that Ukraine never chose the European path, that it would always be under the umbrella of the Russian Federation. Their desire is to install their man. To be honest, they want to do what they did in Chechnya, destroy it completely, and today it is part of their influence, their territories. They did the same thing in Georgia. First, they froze the conflict, and then put their people in charge of the state. They always do this. They did it, by and large, in Belarus,’ Zelenskyy said.

Regarding his legitimacy, Zelenskyy recalled that he was elected by 73% of the population. ‘Our people of Ukraine. 73%. I have always said, you know, I am absolutely open to any elections,’ he stressed.

President Zelenskyy stressed that it was impossible to hold elections during martial law because of the Ukrainian legislation that explicitly prohibits it and the impossibility of ensuring the full participation of the military, refugees, and citizens in the temporarily occupied territories.

 ‘Of course, the war will end, the hot phase will end, and when martial law is lifted, elections will be announced. We are defending democracy, and this is necessary,’ Zelenskyy said.

He stressed that it is important to produce more weapons in Ukraine.

‘About 40% of the total for 2025 is domestic production. And this gives us not only peace of mind, but also moral confidence that we will not be empty-handed,’ Zelenskyy said.

Today, 40% of the weapons and equipment used on the battlefield are made in Ukraine, while the US contribution to Ukraine's defence capability is 30%. 

‘The contribution to the defence and security of Ukraine and the United States of America today reaches 30%, and you can imagine what would happen to us without these 30%,’ Zelenskyy said.