TRANSCRIPT: ABC News interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

ABC News’ Martha Raddatz interviewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine on Friday, June 6.

Portions of this interview have been translated from Ukrainian to English. This is a transcript of the interview.

RADDATZ: President Zelensky, thank you so much for doing this. I want to start with what has happened in the last few days, Vladimir Putin saying he will retaliate, and we have seen that over the last night and more expected.

ZELENSKYY (UKRAINIAN): Thank you very much for being here. And you've witnessed it firsthand. Unfortunately, you had to witness it and understand what is almost every night in Ukraine for our people.

What Putin said is not true because if you look at our operation bef-- One day before our operation, the most massive attack by the Russians was launched, 480-something drones were launched and also a lot of missiles. Almost half a thousand drones alone. A day before our operation, so he just wanted to justify his next strikes. We understand that, we see it. Probably people don't realize that-- all people don't realize that. But they have to understand that we are under strikes, under attack every day. We have intelligence data and we know that Russia-- Russia can strike anywhere. And sometimes they have specific targets, sometimes they hit civilian targets just for people to suffer. And you might remember that when they were talking about ceasefires, temporary ceasefire, they still continued attacking and launching strikes. They think that putting such pressure on us, they will influence the situation, political situation after.

RADDATZ: Let's talk about Operation Spiderweb--

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): Please

RADDATZ: An extraordinary, extraordinary feat. Tell us how that happened, how it started. I know you have said you were involved a year and a half ago you started planning this secret operation.

ZELENSKYY (UKRAINIAN): It's a little bit more than 18 months, a year and a half. Or- Like- Security Service of Ukraine says one year, six months, nine days. It's a very complicated operation, very complex operation. It's very important from the point of view that we understood from the very beginning, from the beginning of the full-scale war.

When Iran started helping Russia with their attack drones, with Shahed drones, at the time it was just dozens of drones, later it became hundreds of drones because Iran provided Russian licenses to build factories, to build construction assembly lines for Shahed drones, and it was-- Understandable even at that time that it will be difficult for us to counter massive strikes, and especially the Russians do not want to stop when they feel the smell of blood. They just want to kill. It's not just a metaphor. So we understood that we can only counter it with force, and we understood if they do some steps, we can stop them in their tracks, and probably then they will be ready for some kind of diplomacy and talks. So then I instructed our people from special services that we have to do everything for the Russians to feel that their strikes, with their strategic airplanes and strategic aircraft, will have to stop.

Because we were continuing diplomatic work as well, but there was thousands of their operations in those year and a half from them, and it was really torture for our people. They just-- they just-- they just hit theaters, museums, libraries, you know, water treatment plants. Shelters, bomb shelters.

While we understood where those strikes were coming from, we had decided to organize such operation like that, because it was not the first operation, before that we had several operations targeting the Black Sea Fleet, the Russian Black Sea fleet, because before they used their warships to launch missile strikes on civilian targets and just on civilians. So we managed to damage and destroy dozens of warships and boats because, you know, before the war, as you know, we didn't have a proper fleet ourselves.

don't want to deviate from your main question, but it's just for you to understand that we managed to manufacture a lot of sea drones, maritime drones, and then so we managed to push the Russians from the Black Sea Fleet. They still can use the submarines and some other warships, but the majority of boats and warships were destroyed and damaged. And the second question was about strategic air force, and the Security Service of Ukraine was closely monitoring this issue. Why this security service? Because it's a very secret clandestine operation, and our guys are just brilliant at doing what they're doing, gathering intelligence, and the security service made sure this operation was absolutely secret and clandestine and there were no leaks in advance about this operation. So besides those who were involved in planning this operation, no one knew about it.

There was also a story about the Crimean bridge, because apart from warships, the Crimean bridge was a very vital logistics route for supplies of Russian armed forces. So we planned also several strikes against the Crimean bridge. So we had some strikes, and if you try to evaluate the success of this operation on the scale of zero to 10, we would say seven or eight. Not ten, not perfect, but at least it was still successful. Was the--

With the operation Spiderweb, no-- there were no civilian casualties, no women with children, no firefighters, rescuers. No one--no one suffered any injuries or deaths. So our drones were not falling on playgrounds, or schools, or civilian infrastructure facilities. But we managed to destroy 34% of strategic air force of Russia, on the airfields that were used specifically for flying sorties against Ukraine. And they still continue to use those airfields. They want to show–they want to show their own population that the Ukrainian strike was probably not that successful.

RADDATZ: So you believe you did destroy maybe 40 aircraft. Others say maybe 10 to 20. How many did you destroy?

ZELENSKYY (UKRAINIAN): We think and -- we have our analytics that we destroyed 34% of their strategic air jets and especially those jets which they used to attack our civil infrastructure, people, children. They killed a lot of people. It's not about hundreds, it's about thousands.

RADDATZ: From those very aircraft.

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): Yes. Yes. And this is for us, we think that minimum it's about 30%, 34%, and what we know it's about 41, maybe 42, but 41, uh it's our estimation, 41 jet. Yeah.

RADDATZ: Where were you-

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): Seven billion, by the way a little bit more the price of this operation, I mean this for Russians, more than seven billion dollars.

RADDATZ: And the drone's not very expensive.

ZELENSKYY: Yes, not. They- They- We use cheap drones.

RADDATZ: Where were you that night when this was launched? What was it like for you watching the success of this operation?

ZELENSKYY (UKRAINIAN): I was in constant touch with the head of the Security Service of Ukraine and with those guys who were involved. I will not -- I will not, of course, tell you the exact location of where those guys were positioned. There were special places. But I was in constant touch, in constant communication, and when the operation was over, I, of course, was watching the videos that the whole world was watching.

Later and I awarded them state awards because it's understandable that after such a success, in spite of all the difficulties in preparation, it was very important for me how cleanly it went, how smoothly it went. And as I-- as I-- as I said already, there were no casualties on the side of civilians, on the side of families, Russians. Nobody's suffered like our children suffer every day. So I think the operation is absolutely perfect, and I congratulated all the guys involved, and then I awarded all of them, and some of them-- some of them were awarded the highest awards, but I will not name those people for the interest of, um, secrecy. Those people are extremely clever, extremely smart. They have knowledge and expertise. It's just the people who understand every nuance of the technical and scientific side.

RADDATZ: Just a few more questions on this and then we'll get to other things but if you could explain those trucks you had russian drivers who had no idea.

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): They didn't know.

RADDATZ: They didn't know.

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): The drivers didn't what they do. Yeah, they just did their job, and et cetera, of course, of course.

RADDATZ: And hidden on those trucks--

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): We used Ukrainians, and we used only our weapon. For me, it was very important that we don't use, we didn't use any weapon of our partners, not because we don't need, no we need. But that what I said, that it's just military goals. Not using partner's weapon. That was my task because I didn't want Russians then to say that you see Ukrainians use something from the United States or UK, France, Italy, that they use the weapon from the partners and they said yes, but that's why I wanted very much to use only what we produce and to have the separation very clear.

RADDATZ: And we have heard that they knew what parts of that airplane to hit because you have airplanes here in museums.

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): Yes. They knew exactly where to hit, and they did it exactly what was in their idea, step by step, they did very clear this operation.

RADDATZ: And last question on that, but so the Russian drivers go in all over Russia. They think they have containers or mobile-- mobile units, mobile cottages, have no idea the drones are there and you know those roofs are going to open up with drones.

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): They didn't know anything. They didn't know what will be in the roofs. They didn't know just when it will-- because they didn't know what it will be. That's why they didn't know when it'll be and where. So, this is, I think this is important. Very important.

ZELESNKYY (UKRAINIAN): Yeah, it was very important to ensure that later the Russians wouldn't be able to say, oh, the Ukrainians just managed to recruit those Russian drivers, and those are the traitors of Russia, that it's a terrorist attack. No, it's not a terrorist attack. It's-- It's-- It's clean and clear military operation. It's a step that showed everyone that we do not want this war. We do not want to fight. We want everything to stop, as one journalist asked me -- It was a lady -- And she asked me -- It was just one day after the Istanbul meeting and she asked me, if the ceasefire was in place as a result of Istanbul meeting, Istanbul talks, if the Russians agreed -- Yeah, the operation was one day before --

RADDATZ: Oh, you're probably talking about the ceasefire and that she, I think I remember that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): So the question was that during this month, it's understandable that we prepared the operation more than one year and a half. And the question was, during these months, you spoke about ceasefire. And the question was, if Russia, because you wanted, Ukraine wanted very much ceasefire, full, unconditional ceasefire. Any kind of ceasefire we, yes, we're proposed. So if Russia could accept ceasefire, it's been that the operation wouldn't be. I said, of course, that's it. So we are defending us. And ceasefire is a part or the step to the peace. And that's why we need ceasefire.

RADDATZ: So even though you had this incredible plan underway, that wouldn't have happened if there was a ceasefire.

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): Yes, of course. Yes, of course, but we have to prepare such plans and we are not stopping. We have to prepare such plans because Russia can't, because we don't know, we have no estimation what will be tomorrow from that. We don't really know if they will stop this war. They don't want. They don't want to stop the war. This is the problem.

RADDATZ: You're convinced of that.

ZELESNKYY (UKRAINIAN): Yes, I am convinced because they do not feel any pressure. Putin wants to get back the mythical power of the Soviet Union, but I don't think there are people who are capable of explaining that to Putin. I'm sure. That's a... He just wants to restore, to restore this Soviet Union superpower. And first of all, it's important to get Ukraine, because Ukraine, after Russia, Ukraine was the biggest and strongest republic of the former Soviet Union. And besides, the partners are not-- are not forceful enough to put pressure on him, and Putin feels it very, very much.

ZELENSKYY (UKRAINIAN): And inside Russia, people want this to continue.

RADDATZ: That's what I saw as well when I was inside Russia, that there was support for Putin for this to continue. President Trump told our Terry Moran in an interview, a recent interview, that he does believe Putin wants peace. You think he's wrong.

ZELENSKYY (UKRAINIAN): With all due respect to President Trump, of course. I think it's just his personal opinion maybe. I had several meetings with him and not once. I didn't change my position, uh, as to-- as to the real causes and root of war and my position. I feel strongly that Putin does not want to finish this war. In-- Inside his head-- Inside his mind it's impossible to end this war without total defeat of Ukraine. If Ukraine is not defeated, he will not feel that it's a victory for him. Trust me, we understand the Russians much better, the mentality of the Russians, than the Americans understand the mentality of Russians. We are neighbors for like years and ages. So it's-- it's-- it's different. We understand the Russians. Our people understand the Russians. I know for sure that Putin doesn't want to stop the war.

And they will remain very, very pragmatic if very hard pressure is applied on them, then they will stop the war. But then the question, the next question will be for how long they will stop this war?And I told President Trump many times about-- about that. When and if the war stops there will be a question about security guarantees, and I talked with President Trump about it many times. We know the Russians very well. Without proper securities, strong security guarantees, if we have such, then the peace will be sustainable and long. If there are weak security guarantees, it will just be a pause.

RADDATZ: So what happens if you do not think and you do not trust Putin that he wants peace, and even if you sign on to some sort of agreement, that he will keep that promise? Where does that leave you? Where does it leave Ukraine?

ZELENSKYY (UKRAINIAN): The majority of wars, if you read the history books. The majority of wars were ended even at the stage when both sides, both parties, did not trust each other. There were intermediaries, there was a strong position of, uh, third countries. Everyone understood that the war is not just to start and to finish, to start and to stop. The war remains, you know, like a long tail, the long tail-- the long aftertaste, so to say, and it influences a lot of other countries and a lot of-- a lot of different aspects of life, its-- its energy, power supply, its-- its food supply, its-- its-- its environmental issues. There's a lot of-- a lot of stuff.

And in any case, if it's not a complete capitulation, like was Germany at the end of Second World War, the majority of wars were finished with some kinds of agreements, some kinds of deals, but for that there should be some strong third parties involved who can put pressure on the aggressor, because we are ready for the meeting or for the summit. Look, what the United States offered, the former administration put forward several proposals. The new administration is putting forward several proposals. And whatever President Trump is putting forward, we accept this because we think that he can put pressure on the Russians, even if you don't like their proposals. Do we uh-- do we like the ceasefire without security guarantees? Not very much, but still, we support it. We were ready for the long 30-day ceasefire. We are ready for the ceasefire until the leaders' summit is organized. We are ready for ceasefire on land, on sea and in the air, anything.

What-- what different envoys of the Trump administration offered, both sides, we supported every offer, every proposal. But Russia didn't-- didn't support and just rejected every single offer from Trump Administration.

So, we shouldn't speak like in philosophical terms. If-- if the sides don't want, we have to wait for a little bit, but it's not right. Our side do not reject any offers. We agree to every offer. We do not want to surrender to Putin. We are not ready for ultimatums, and we want to end the war. We are ready for ceasefire.

We are ready for concrete ceasefire that American side is offering and we saw the United States as a guarantor of the ceasefire and who could monitor the effectiveness of the ceasefire.

RADDATZ: Do you think President Trump is putting enough pressure on Vladimir Putin? You have heard him over the last few weeks. Sometimes he says, stop this. He's crazy. He's absolutely crazy. And other times, like this week, he compared it, the war, to children fighting and just let them keep fighting a while before you pull them apart. So do you think he is putting enough pressure on Vladimir Putin?

ZELENSKYY (UKRAINIAN): Well, every person can express his or her thoughts. And I think it's an important argument and value of the democracy that we actually are defending against the Russians, the freedom of speech. I don't think that President Trump. That this allegory about the children is very comparable with our war. Because we were not playing in the park with the Russians like two boys, and it's not a story of two kids. It's a story of them coming to us with aggression, and Putin is not a kid. He's an adult guy, and he understands properly what he was doing. He's a maniac who came to the playground and-- and starts, you know, intimidating, killing children. Kidnapping children, deporting children, leaving children without parents. So we can't really compare. And in my mind, we cannot say, OK, let them fight for a while.

We are talking about a manic, a bandit, a rogue, and the kid. This kid is us. Yes, we have grown up during this war, but anyway, he came to our playground, to our kids' playground, and, uh, the adults of this world should not-- should not discuss and negotiate with a manic. They should isolate him, imprison him, isolate him from normal people. And when this manic is a terrorist-- they are trying to-- they are trying to discuss something with him just to-- to-- to-- to force him liberate people. Putin doesn't hide the fact that he came to our land, to our country with weapons and arms. He's proud of it. Well, of course, he argues that he come here to protect people, to defend some people at some point. But now, yeah, now he's proudly saying that I came there and will continue doing that because I am convinced that historically this territory is our land, this land is Russian land. This is a manic. This is not a kid in the park.

Are there enough levers and powers to stop this in the United States? Yes, I am convinced that the President of the United States has all the powers and enough leverage to step up. He can-- he can unite around him other partners like European leaders, they all looking at the President Trump as a leader of the free world, a free, democratic world and they are waiting for him.

They-- they want him to become leader, they're telling him, 'you are the leader of the free world. We will help. We, as Europeans, we will help you. You and us together, we can stop Putin. Because Europe, unfortunately, is not as strong as America. Europe will have to become, in the future, as strong as America, but that's future and we are talking about today. And today there's a struggle and a fight. And today President Trump can do that, can do everything. I actually want to thank the the U.S. Senate, Congress, and uh, and senators and congressmen about the sanction package that is being prepared, like Lindsey Graham, and I'm very grateful to him. He was here with Richard Blumenthal, Senator, and we discussed the issue and we are very grateful and thankful to them. These are strong steps, because there's no other way to talk to people who understand nothing but force, but strength.

RADDATZ: I want to talk a bit about your relationship with President Trump and what he has told you. We all saw that Oval Office, chaotic, disastrous meeting. I know after that meeting, you tried to repair that relationship. Tell us what it was like in the aftermath.

ZELENSKYY (UKRAINIAN): It's quite-- it's quite complicated. It was, well, you could watch it-- you could watch it live. And it was very clear and very straightforward when you could see it live on TV. But as I always-- when I always-- I used to remind everyone, cameras don't lie. Everybody could see on their-- on their television screens. I think the result of that meeting, I was very honest and open.

When I said that when a small country is fighting for its life against the giant with the– with all that evil that they brought with their army and their weapons to our land. We still have strong sides, it's people, it's moral ethics. The truth, dignity on our side.

And, and I look at those five things that I mentioned with great respect, with special respect. I--I--I can be emotional, I can be less emotional, but I'm always about truth and for defending truth. Sometimes, during the war, something is--is--is probably unnecessary, but during the war, I cannot lose my dignity during the war. I don't have a right, as a person and as a president of the country who defends the truth and who defends the country. And this truth sometimes is in America, is probably-- it doesn't sound as something very important, but for us, it's extremely important. 90,000 people are dead.

And it's not 20 missiles, but 420 missiles. 631 children lost their lives. It's not 100 children on each side. It's 631 Ukrainian children died in those years of the war. For someone, it's just general figures, general numbers for someone. But for me, it's extremely important and I will defend my position. And I was trying to do that during the meeting at the Oval Office. And what happened there, I actually openly said it will not help our parties, both our countries. So I want our next meetings to be right, to be honest, but honest in a way of parity, that they will, they will defend the dignity of our people. The next meeting was in Vatican. Yes, it was very short, but it was very productive.

RADDATZ: Those images from that meeting at the Vatican were very powerful. You looked very intense, like you were getting along, like you were getting your message through. Did your relationship with President Trump change that day? And does it remain changed?

ZELENSKYY (UKRAINIAN): Well, I would like to--to believe that our relationship changed for the better, but I--I--I don't know. I don't know for sure. I can't give you 100% guarantee. I want to believe that we have a normal, equal, professional relationship. I do not have in my opinion enough contacts with President Trump to understand the deep nature of our relationship. I would like more talks and more communication with President Trump. There are people who communicate with President more than me and they deliver different messages to him. Some messages you can agree with, some messages, no. It's not because I'm against -- It's just --

I'm here. I'm here and I know exactly what is happening here in Ukraine. I think, I think when you are a president of the country here in the country, inside the country you know more about certain things and all things than just ordinary people. And in any, in any human relationship, I think that mutual trust is important. This trust is based on mutual respect. If you have respect and trust, every, every other aspect will be better. That's how I build my relationship, how I develop my relationship, just in my life. If you don't have respect, yeah, you don't have a good relationship. So, you need more time, you need more opportunities for that and more time because, okay, 15 minutes in Vatican, tet a tet, one to one, 15 minutes, did more to establish this trust than the meeting with many people present in the Oval Office.

RADDATZ: President Zelensky, you speak so powerfully about the loss in your country and what your people have suffered. Do you think the president is getting that message when he says things like it's two children fighting?

ZELENSKYY (UKRAINIAN): You know, even parents in Ukraine who live in Ukraine. And who fight for the survival of their family, of their children, they cannot feel the full pain of those parents who lost their children. It's impossible. I will never believe it. You can commiserate, but I will never believe that you can feel it. And the president who is not living here. And it's not about President Trump, it's about any person who is not here in the country, who is some thousands of miles away, cannot feel fully and understand this pain. And it's true. We had a day recently that. Uh. It's the day that we commemorate the memory of children who suffered during this war. And many people gathered. It was a big--big happening with the diplomatic representatives from many countries. And every one of us at this meeting, we all wanted to say something, and--and we actually said very just and fair words. And all of us, we can speak all of us, we can say the right words. And then there was a father.

From Kryvyi Rih who lost--who lost his wife and three children in one missile strike. He's a civilian guy. He never went to war. But in one--in one missile strike, he lost his wife and three children when there was a drone missile incoming straight into his apartment flat. And you know, he spoke very different words than us diplomats and the statesmen. And he wasn't--he wasn't mentioning any statistics or figures and numbers of strikes and missiles, et cetera. And he just said, every morning when I wake up.

I'm looking around, I'm just looking for my family. I'm-- I am looking everywhere in the flat. I--I-- I'm looking for them just beside me and they are not there because I still feel that it was a nightmare. It wasn't real. It was a dream, bad dream.

I go outside and I see a father who keeps his little girl by the hand and the girl is just like my dead daughter and I just feel physical pain and I can't do anything about it and this--this pain is--is just limitless.

Do people who haven't lost the kids feel something like that? Probably not. Can president who--who is in America feel exactly like this father? No. And this is why. We are not kids with Putin at the playground in the park. This is why I am saying he is a murderer who came to this park to kill the kids.

RADDATZ: What do you think President Trump's relationship with Vladimir Putin is?

ZELENSKYY (UKRAINIAN): Definitely longer relationship than I have with him because we all know it, it's from open sources, the economic relationship. And judging by information that I've seen uh even before he was--even before he became president. Trump is a businessman, and it's like you--you have a change of presidents in America, unlike Russia. And I think, for Trump, business is important.

For Trump, it's important to sort of extend the geopolitical line of relationship between America and the Soviet Union back then.

RADDATZ: Steve Witkoff. Okay, okay. Yeah, well, I'm..

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): I'm-- I'm answering.

RADDATZ: He's been, no, he's been great. He's been so great. I appreciate it. Do you-- does President Trump believe that Russia is winning this war, do you think?

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): Yes.

RADDATZ: Has he told you that?

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): I think he-- he has publicly said about it and I know that he shared this information with some people around him and I think this operation--and I said it a lot of times-- it's not true. Not true, I mean it's, not about his wars, yes, just to be understandable, yes. About the real situation. It's not a victory when you spend, really spend, one million people. Forgetting, some thousands of kilometers. It's not a victory. It's initiative because of the people, volume of people, volume of weapon, and this initiative in your hands. But this is not a victory. And I said it to President Trump you will see this is not a victory. Of course, if all of you -- United States and Europe -- if you will close, uh, support and we'll go out or withdraw from all these situations. Yes, they can win. But I just want to remind everybody, even without all the partners, it was difficult for them to occupy us at the very beginning of the war. So it's, uh, impossible for Putin, in such circumstances where we are, to win this war. If--If there will be unity in the world and they will be on our side, it's impossible, so he can win only if it's very, very long war, a lot of-- many years, many years and without sanctions. That's what he really wants because he will need money for this war and he wants to be in Crimea until he will die. Yes, this is his goal. That's why he wants to occupy us, to destroy us. His economy depends exactly on oil, on the energy sector, and we need to put sanctions as quick as possible. We lost a lot of years.

RADDATZ: And if you...

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): To put on energy and price caps on oil, $30 we need for them. $30, not more, and we lost three years. We gave them this money. Yes, they sold big volume of energy, big volume of energy. You know, China, India and other, and Brazil, and other countries. And with functions again-- the same and with the banking system again and with a defense sector, be honest, yes, because without European and American and Taiwan and China and some European partners without the product of these companies, without the details what they produce, Putin couldn't manage to produce so big number of missiles.

RADDATZ: If you do not get more U.S. aid, more U.S. Military aid in particular, can Russia win?

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): More, more, more chance. More quick. But you know what we will have? We will have more losses, much more losses without help of the United States, they can give us, they can provide us, for example, missiles for a Patriot or not, if they will stop. Today you've been, here thank you again, but you've been here. And-- but yes, we used Patriot systems. Not enough. Not enough, but anyway, we used it. So if the United States doesn't give us or will not give us, I mean some missiles, what will be? More losses. More people will lose. By the way, you know, we had, we have, as you saw, big problems with the Shaheds etc. We fight against it and of course we will do everything, to-- we will find all the instruments yes, to destroy this, but we found one thing and we decided, uh, with a, I think it was, yeah, with your previous administration, it was the Minister Austin, Minister of Defense Austin.

RADDATZ: Mhm.

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): Yes, and he and we decided for one project, and we counted on this project, 20,000 between us, 20,000 missiles, anti-Shahed missiles. It was not expensive, but it's special technology. So we counted on these 20,00 missiles. Today in the morning, my Minister of Defense told me that United States moved it to the Middle East.

RADDATZ: So where does that leave you?

RADDATZ: Last question, let me ask you the last question. Last question.

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): OK.

RADDATZ: Is-- everything you've said today does not sound very optimistic, and yet there are meetings planned for Monday. What do you expect from those meetings, and how far away do you think peace is at this point?

ZELENSKYY (UKRAINIAN): To be honest, we are very close to the moment when we can make Russia stop this war. At least stop the fighting. We are very close. We feel like that. Our operation on their territory, it really, the spider web operation, it made them mad. But it make them understand many things. They understand that if we will lose more support from, uh, from the U.S., we will develop our own capabilities. We will have to depend on us, and the Russians understand that if we will develop further this particular direction of clandestine drone attacks, we will develop, and we-- they understand that we will continue fighting for us, for our freedom. We are very close. We just need more strong support from the US, and the US needs to be united with Europe and together they should pressure, put pressure on Putin. He does not want to end the war, but he can stop the war because of the strong pressure and I think there is a chance. And it's not very pessimistic. It's not very pessimistic, I'm talking about reality.

RADDATZ: Do you think President Trump wants those sanctions? He hasn't really been clear.

ZELENSKYY (UKRAINIAN): But he's the leader of the United States, so he has to do it, he must do it. I--I very hope-- I hope very much and I believe that the United States are still-- is still the leader of this civilized world.

RADDATZ: He said, sorry, Sergei, one last thing. President Trump said he has his own deadline in his brain about when he might impose sanctions. And he also said he might impose them on both of you.

ZELENSKYY (UKRAINIAN): There was so, so much against Ukraine from the Russians. We don't really need anything more from the United States. We support the proposals that the United States are putting forward about ceasefire, about end of the war. About any format that can bring all of us closer, about the meetings on the level of technical experts or the leaders of the countries. We agree to everything and we do everything. So it's--it's--it's not the right balance between us and the Russians. The Russians don't want anything. Sometimes there is no alternative.

ZELENSKYY (UKRAINIAN): It's just the Russians who do not want to end the war. It--it--it-- doesn't matter-- It doesn't matter who wants, apart from the United States, to apply sanctions against Russia. If it's not the United States, there will be no real impact. So it's really important the U.S. is applying sanctions.

RADDATZ: Thanks so much, Mr. President, we appreciate it.

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): Thank you very much. Thank you for coming. You're always welcome.

RADDATZ: Thank you.

ZELENSKYY (ENGLISH): Thank you