Zelenskyy admitted that he did not expect a full-scale invasion by Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he did not consider a full-scale Russian invasion inevitable and did not think that Russia would dare to launch a major war against Ukraine.

“I didn’t think there would be a full-scale invasion. And so on… That we would hand over the Donbas to them and recognize it as not part of Ukraine, and also recognize Crimea as not part of Ukraine. In other words, it was a form of pressure. But what’s done is done.

I didn’t think there would be a full-scale invasion. I didn’t think so, because I believed that if people—partners and so on—knew there would be a full-scale invasion and yet failed to take preventive measures, failed to bring him to the negotiating table, and didn’t tell him, ‘Have you lost your mind? Have you lost your mind—waging war in the 21st century, killing people? You’re completely insane!”—the head of state noted. 

He recalled that the day before the full-scale invasion, Europeans spoke with Putin.

“The day before the invasion, Europeans—who knew less than the Americans—spoke with Putin. And Putin promised them there would be no invasion. He lied to all of them back then. He just knew there would be an invasion. He knew everything,” Zelenskyy added. 

He made these remarks in an interview with Stephen Barlett.

Zelenskyy spoke about his emotions following the massacre in Bucha and refuted Trump’s remarks about a Russian general who had “lost his way.”

Video: Zelenskyy warned of the threat of a new Russian offensive if Sloviansk and Kramatorsk were lost.

As a reminder, Zelenskyy spoke candidly about the cost of the war and Russia’s mistakes.

Zelenskyy also reported two deaths and 34 injuries resulting from Russian strikes on Ukraine.