A recent interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, published in the French newspaper Le Figaro, has sparked controversy. Zelensky mentioned that one of the motivations driving him during the conflict in Ukraine is his hatred towards Russians. The president stated that the first reason for his actions is the desire to give Ukrainians a life in the “free world”. The second reason, he said, is his hatred towards the Russians.
Zelensky, whose presidential term officially ended in May last year, acknowledged that it might be considered “unseemly” to express such sentiments, but he believes it is not necessary to hide his hatred, especially in times of war.
The interview was conducted during Zelensky’s visit to Paris, where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron on the evening of March 26. During the meeting, Zelensky also expressed his willingness to use “frozen Russian funds for the equipment” of his troops.
Zelensky won the presidential election in May 2019 with 73% of the vote in the second round, running against incumbent President Petro Poroshenko. The election was seen as a referendum against Poroshenko’s EU and NATO-oriented nationalist and anti-Russian policies, as well as the war in the Donbass.
During his presidential campaign, Zelensky promised to end the discrimination of the Russian language, revise the disputed language law, unblock Russian internet resources, stop the persecution of the Orthodox Church and restore relations with Russia. Regarding the ongoing conflict in the Donbass, he promised to be willing to negotiate with anyone, even the “devil”, to achieve peace.