“They are isolated… they are alone” - Zelensky speaks about Russia and Putin's lies

In an interview with the British media outlet The Guardian, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke at length about the war, Russia and, as he put it, the lies of its leader, Vladimir Putin. Zelensky also talks about his meeting with Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in Kiev, and what he pledged to him.

Speaking to The Guardian newspaper, Volodymyr Zelensky appears cheerful and optimistic. More than four years after Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he believes that Europe’s biggest war since 1945 is slowly starting to turn in Ukraine’s favor. According to him, the military situation is more promising for Kiev than it has been for the past two and a half years.

"We can't say that Russia is losing this war. But we can say that it is losing the initiative every day, day after day," he insists.

The Kremlin has suffered a series of strikes over the past week. Ukrainian long-range drones have struck Putin's hometown of St. Petersburg, setting off fires at oil terminals and sending huge clouds of smoke over the city.

Similar attacks have paralyzed occupied Crimea. A key supply route is littered with burned trucks and tankers, and the peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, is facing severe fuel shortages.

Meanwhile, on the eastern front, the slow Russian advance has all but stopped. According to Zelensky, who has repeatedly stated since 2022 that Ukraine can defend itself if it receives the necessary support, the Kremlin is losing more than 30.000 soldiers a month. Of these, 23.000-24.000 have been killed, while the rest have been seriously injured. He suggests the real number could be even higher.

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"In total, this is a very large number. This means they are not winning the war," he emphasizes.

Ukraine has also lost military personnel, but to a lesser extent.

Although Moscow's war appears stalled, the destruction continues. In recent months, Russia has intensified airstrikes on Ukrainian cities and towns, with the apparent aim of terrorizing civilians.

An attack last Tuesday involved 73 missiles and 656 drones. Eighteen people have been killed in Kiev and Dnipro, including a three-year-old boy who was buried under the rubble of an apartment building. According to the mayor of Kiev, the Russians are deliberately using such munitions in residential areas, which explode in the air and release smaller bombs over a wide area.

"Putin has been lying since the beginning of the war"

Last week, Zelensky sent an open letter to the Russian president, proposing a face-to-face meeting to reduce tensions and end the conflict. Speaking at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum on Friday, Putin rejected the offer. He called the letter “rude” and said that Russia’s territorial claims to the Donbas region and two southern Ukrainian provinces remain unchanged.

He has also insisted that Russian forces are advancing along the entire front line, telling soldiers: "Keep up the work, brothers."

Putin's unwavering stance has led some observers to wonder whether he is living in illusions or being fed inaccurate information by his commanders. Zelensky says these theories may be plausible, but adds that "the reason he is lying is irrelevant."

According to him, Putin has been lying since the beginning of the war, claiming that the invasion was necessary to “save” Russian-speakers in Ukraine. He believes that these lies serve as a glue that binds different segments of Russian society together.

On the international stage, Russia has suffered several political defeats. In April, Putin's closest ally in Europe, Viktor Orban, was defeated in parliamentary elections in Hungary. Recent Russian efforts to support pro-Kremlin candidates in Moldova and, last weekend, in Armenia also failed.

"They are losing influence in various countries, including Azerbaijan," Zelensky says.

"They are isolated within Europe and from the United States. So they are alone," he adds. 

Donald Trump began his second term in 2025 with a promise to end the war.

Zelensky has cautiously praised American diplomatic efforts, despite a difficult meeting in the Oval Office in February 2025, the friendly summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska in August 2025, and cuts in American aid to Kiev.

"I have always told President Trump that Putin lies. He plays games with you and with the White House," Zelensky says, adding that he is grateful to the Americans for their "strong support."

Shifting attention to Iran

The Ukrainian president acknowledges that Washington's attention has shifted to the Middle East.
"Of course, since the start of the war with Iran their focus changed," he says of the Trump administration.

He understands why the US has used so many missiles and weapons in the conflict with Tehran, but points out with regret that Ukraine, unlike US allies in the Persian Gulf and Israel, has never received such a level of support.

"It's unfortunate," he says.

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Since 2022, Ukraine has become a drone superpower. From a country that once sought military assistance from the West, Kiev has become a center of military production and technological innovation. Several Arab countries have sought its help in shooting down Iranian Shahed drones.

However, the most important weapon that Ukraine lacks today, according to Zelensky, are the American Patriot systems. They are the only ones that can shoot down the Russian ballistic missiles that fall every night on Ukrainian civilians.

On Sunday, Zelensky held talks in Downing Street with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron. He said he had again called on European allies to “close the skies” over Ukraine, meaning to help the country cope with the massive drone and missile attacks.

In addition to anti-ballistic missiles, he seeks financial support to transform the mobilized Ukrainian army into a professional, contracted force, according to the European model.

He acknowledges that Patriot missiles are extremely expensive, costing around $4 million each. He says Britain, France, Germany and other European Union countries should work together to build a European alternative to the American system.

In return, Ukraine is willing to share its experience gained with many sacrifices in drone warfare.

"Britain is among the interested countries. NATO is also very interested. This is invaluable information," he says.

Zelensky is reluctant to talk much about future military operations. However, medium- and long-range drone strikes make the return of Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, a tempting, if still distant, possibility.

Ukrainian forces are working to destroy the peninsula's logistics and strike military and energy targets throughout occupied southern Ukraine.

"It's all about critical infrastructure. This helps them militarize our Crimea. We're working on this," he adds.

For a long time, many Russians have tried to ignore the war taking place across the Ukrainian border. Zelensky says the purpose of the long-range strikes is to make the residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg "feel" what war is like.

"Victory in this war will come when Russian society recognizes that war is terrible, that it is a tragedy not for someone far away, but for themselves. And I think that this moment is approaching."

Zelensky's pledge

In May, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich secretly traveled to Kiev for talks with Zelensky.

The Ukrainian president says he made it clear that he will never give up Donbas, as Moscow wants.

"I think there are different people around Putin. Half want to continue the war. Half want to stop it. And people who come from business understand that the Russian economy is in a terrible state. It is very close to collapse," he says.

Zelensky gave the interview shortly before meeting with King Charles. The two appear to have developed a warm and trusting relationship. The Ukrainian president previously revealed that the monarch had asked Donald Trump, during his state visit to Britain last year, to support Ukraine, something the US president has reluctantly done.

When asked if King Charles might one day visit the presidential palace in Kiev, Zelensky smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

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"You know, this morning when I spoke on the phone with my wife, Olena, with all due respect to Keir, she first sent greetings to the king. And then to the prime minister," he recounts, laughing.

"Ukraine loves His Majesty. I would very much like to invite him to Kiev. Maybe this year. I don't know from a security point of view, but we certainly want to see him."