The Chris Cuomo Project - CUOMO Exchanges: Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Episode Date: December 23, 2022

In a special extended interview from NewsNation’s “Cuomo,” Chris Cuomo speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the state of Russia’s war against Ukraine, being named TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year, why his country continues to fight for peace, what he fears most, and much more.  Follow and subscribe to The Chris Cuomo Project on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube for new episodes every Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, I'm Chris Cuomo, and welcome to another episode of The Chris Cuomo Project. So the country's talking about the president of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, coming here even though the war is going on, comes to America asking for support to deliver a message of urgency. We got to speak to him right before. So what motivated him to come to America? What is the situation? What are his concerns, not just for now,

but for what he believes is coming in that country and beyond? Here is the president of Ukraine right on the eve of his big address to America. Look, no shame in my game. I've been using AG1 for over five years. Why? It works, it's easier, and it's less expensive. That's why. Since 2010, they've been getting their formulations right and tweaking their formulas. Why? Because the science changes. Okay? It's not like politics where people decide to believe one thing and no matter what happens with the facts, they never shift. This is the opposite.

Ooh, prebiotics work with probiotics. But in this way, D works with K and this type of B works with that. They have the scientists doing it, so I don't need all the bottles, I don't have to spend all the money, and I don't have to figure out when to take what and why. More importantly, it's not just the regular list of vitamins. It's the extras, okay? The adaptogens, the prebiotics, the probiotics that support your body's universal needs, gut optimization, immune support, stress management. That's what foundational nutrition is about. And these are the people at AG1 who've been doing the work to get it right.

OK, I tell friends, I tell family, I get no complaints. Okay? If you want to take ownership of your health, it starts with AG1. Try AG1, you get a free one-year supply of vitamin D3K2 and five free AG1 travel packs. Okay? That's what happens with your first purchase. So make it. Go to drinkag1.com slash ccp. Drinkag1.com slash ccp. Check it out. We don't fake the funk here, and here's the real talk. Over 40 years of age, 52% of us experience some kind of ED between the ages of 40 and 70. I know it's taboo, it's embarrassing, but it shouldn't be. Thankfully, we now have HIMSS, and it's changing the vibe by providing affordable access to ED treatment, and it's all online. HIMSS is changing men's health care.

Why? Because it's giving you access to affordable and discreet sexual health treatments, and you do it right from your couch. HIMS provides access to clinically proven generic alternatives to Viagra or Cialis or whatever. And it's up to like 95% cheaper. And there are options as low as $2 a dose. HIMS has hundreds of thousands of trusted subscribers. So if ED is getting you down, it's time to pick it up.

Start your free online visit today at HIMS.com slash CCP, H-I-M-S.com slash CCP, and you will get personalized ED treatment options. HIMS.com slash CCP. Prescriptions, you need an online consultation with a healthcare provider, and they will determine if appropriate. Restrictions apply. You see the website, you'll get details and important safety information.

You're going to need a subscription. It's required. Plus, price is going to vary based on product and subscription plan. Mr. President, thank you for joining us. I know the security situation is very sensitive. There were massive bombings in Kyiv just around the time of this interview.

What can you tell us? Please, don't add more. Okay, put it aside. As for today, there are no surprises. Russian aggression is still continuous. There were 34 strikes with our Iranian drones on electrical grid of our country, as well as the capital, Kyiv, and the Kyiv region. The electrical crews are still working on those issues, as well as the water supply or heat for some of us.

But we're trying to deal with those challenges. As always, these challenges lead to the corresponding results of disconnecting electricity or water supply or heating for ordinary citizens. But nevertheless, we are fighting these challenges. What do you know about the number of casualties from today's bombings and how much of the country is without power? Thank you for the question. Unfortunately, we are injured and we have no casualties for now. The reason I'm saying for now, because where the rescue cells are working, under the rubble of those buildings, our national emergency response team is working. That's why we can tell exact numbers of casualties Покучу, чому я говорю покучу, тому що там, де ведуться удари, там, де під ламками тих чи інших зруйнованих будівель або частин будівель, там працюють наші ДСНСники і ті, що ціфру поранених, а вузлядові, ми можемо сказати, після того, як повністю очищуються ті чи інші об'єри після нанесення удару.

Тому ми можемо сказати, що відбувається щоденно, приблизно через артилерійські постріли. Ми бачимо десятки загиблих, вони стріляють особливо по Херсону, Херсонському напрямку. Відсотковий напрямок. Для того, як ми дихали цей рік, вони відійшли на інший берег річки Дібро і потім почали артилерію бя, застосовують постійно. Знаєте, що в ній домовленості на 1700, біля 2000 постачань, біля 2000 іранських дронів. Ми знаємо, що вчора їм поставили ще одну поставку 250 нових дронів шахід, і вони використовували цей дрон сьогодні. І тож, в залежності від цих ударів, зникало світло в нашій державі. За останні два тижні постійно зникало то 9 мільйонів людей, то 6 мільйонів людей. How important are the U.S. Patriot missiles in defending against these attacks? And what do you understand about how soon they will get to you? Thank you for the question. As you know, first of all, I would like to say thanks to the Nassau Air Defense System

from the United States. I also want to thank our partners all of those systems are working pretty well of course the patriotic system is the most effective those are the best ones we're working on this we talked to the president we're working through everything is complicated however I know that both of our countries are working closely so that the Ukraine has a chance to have one of the most powerful and modern and that is why we're working on that. I think that we will come to the desired outcome, because patriots, looking at their capabilities, they would really help us out.

Do you have any sense of timing? You know that every day we're fighting against Russian missile and drone attacks. And I would say honestly that we would like to have received them yesterday. Maybe even the day before. But it would be best not to have those strikes at all. To have prevented them in the first place. But today we believe the sooner the better. We're working just on that.

I'm thinking that President Biden and I can contribute to this. I heard you say this summer that you're very grateful for the help, but that you can't fly with just one wing. And that one wing is nice, but you can't fly with just one wing. You need two wings. You need everything that will help you beat the Russians. Are you still flying with just one wing?

It is difficult for me to answer this question. As you know, it's much like our passenger aircraft, and the very name of the aircraft is Dream. We're flying and we're believing in our country, our homeland, and our dreams. However, де немісь, дрім. Тобто, я до того, що ми літаємо і дуже віримо в наші вітчизняні сили. А вже ж тут не вистачає проти Росії, не вистачає крил, і потрібно більше. І, думаю, що я можу сказати, ми літаємо над тим, що в нас є та зброя, яка в нас є.

Це ж ви фігурально поводите, літаєте за тим крилом. Іноді складної ситуації, коли ми боремося без крил. Але тим не менш, у нас була саме ця мрія боротьби за свободу, за демократію, за наші цінності, за наших дітей. But of course, it is better for the victory to have women. That's how it is. For our values, for our children. And so even without the Kriv, we could catch up with the Russian aggression and stop them. But it's better to have the Kriv for victory. What did it mean to you that the World Cup, FIFA, did not want to play the message that you suggested for the world to watch when all these eyes were on the football, the soccer tournament? Our task was to signal to the world that you have to fight together against the threat.

That is why we thought, I think, that the world has to support Ukraine in this fight against the crush. І тому ми бажали, що, і я вважаю, що світ повинен підтримати всі боротьби України. Проте ми запропонували формулу миру для всього світу. Долучайтеся, будь ласка, ми відкриті, але FIFA знайшли інші пріоритети. В цей момент, насправді, краще всьому світові показувати рекламу шампуня або мили на боку. are so commercial. At this moment, they think it's more important than to show a one-minute video or something in 25 seconds. How do you feel about that decision? Unfortunately, their choice does not depend on me. I'm very sad

that they do not understand what the war has brought. They do not understand the consequences. But the leaders of FIFA, they made their decision. I can only wish them well to their loved ones,

family and children, that everything will be all right. Do you still believe that Ukraine is only the first and that people who think they are safe right now may not be if Ukraine does not win this war. This is whether you think Ukraine would not withstand Russia's pressure and that after Ukraine they will go after other countries. If I understand correctly, I believe that if Ukraine does not withstand the pressure of Russia, then after Ukraine there will beать ваші глядачі. І тому я впевнений, що від міцності України залежить міцність Європи. Дуже кривкий світ, а бажання у російського президента найамбітні. І тому, поки Україна стоїть в світ безпеці, тим сильніше країна, тим сильніший світ. Their ambitions are seen by Moldova and other former republics of the Soviet Union, but also Poland, Romania and other countries where the Soviet government had an influence at one time or another. Please explain to my audience why Ukraine will not attack inside the Russian border,

even though you are being attacked by Russia. We're not interested in making strikes inside Russian territory. Here you have to understand the situation we're defending ourselves we're not offensive we're only offensive against them our territory we're not occupying our territory according to the international law according to our borders this world today is an our territory only and don't buy us Іде наступ проти них, наступ на наші території. Ми де окуповуємо наші території? Згідно міжнародного права, згідно міжнародно визнаних наших кордонів. Ця війна сьогодні на нашій території виключно. І Донбас, і Крим – це Україна. Ось і все. Ми боремося за своє. Я не бачу, щоб наші військові, щоб вони були на території Російського Федерації. Наразі не було. Так, жодного разу не було, починаючи з того ж 91-го року. І тому Росія є окупантом. Ми боремося тільки за своє. Що тут пояснює? Нам не цікаво. Нам не цікаво. Нам не потрібні інші землі, нам потрібна тільки наша земля, тому що це велика відповідальність відповідати за людей, відповідати за рівень їх життя, відповідати за те, щоб розвивалася суспільство, відбудова міст, тощо. Otherwise, on the European continent, we have stuff to do. The Chris Cuomo Project is supported by Cozy Earth. Why? Because I like their sheets. That's why.

A lot of people don't get a good night's sleep for a lot of reasons. One of the ones that you can control is bedding. One out of three of us report being sleep-deprived. Okay, well, what is it? Well, it stresses all kinds of things, but the wrong sheets can make you hot, can make you cold. I'm telling you, I don't even believe it either, but Cozy Earth sheets breathe. And here's what I love about them. Cozy Earth's best-selling sheet is a bamboo set, okay? Temperature regulating. is a bamboo set, okay? Temperature regulating.

Gets softer with every wash. I'm not kidding you, all right? Now, so if you go to CozyEarth.com and you enter the code, enter the code CHRIS, and you can get up to 35% off your first order. CozyEarth.com, and the code is CHRIS. We don't fake the funk here, and here's the real talk. Over 40 years of age, And the code is Chris. HIMS. And it's changing the vibe by providing affordable access to ED treatment. And it's all online. HIMS is changing men's health care. Why? Because it's giving you access to affordable and

discreet sexual health treatments. And you do it right from your couch. HIMS provides access to clinically proven generic alternatives to Viagra or Cialis or whatever. And it's up to like 95% cheaper. And there are options as low as two bucks a dose. HIMS has hundreds of thousands of trusted subscribers. So if ED is getting you down, it's time to pick it up. Start your free online visit today

at HIMS.com slash CCP. H-I-M-S dot com slash CCP. And you will get personalized ED treatment options. HIMS.com slash CCP. Prescriptions, you need an online consultation with a healthcare provider. And they will determine if appropriate. Restrictions apply. You see the website. You'll get details and important safety information. You're going to

need a subscription. It's required. Plus, price is going to vary based on product and subscription plan. What did this mean to you to be the Time Magazine Person of the Year. And inside they say that you as the choice for Person of the Year was the most clear cut in memory, meaning that you were an easier choice than they've had to make in other years. And it also tells us that we were seeing that Ukraine is being respected. It tells us that we really wanted to be heard, to be heard in the fight for the freedom.

It tells us that Americans are supporting Ukraine, supporting our fight. And this magazine cover is not my face, but the face of the Ukrainian people. It's about the nation, about its strength, about ordinary people. This is the face of the Ukrainian people today. Civilians, armed forces, ordinary people, children, all of us. We're the people of Ukraine. That we're not people of Ukraine.

That we're not alone in this war. I'm happy that we're not alone. That journalists of that magazine, they also support us and recognize us. We're just not recognized by Russia. That's okay. We can deal with that. One thing I didn't like about the article. It makes it seem like the Ukraine war has already happened, as if it's in the past, and not something that is very real now, and that the greatest dangers remain ahead. What do you want people to know about how much is still at risk? I will answer in English, if I can.

So it's really, I mean, that is my message, straight message. It's really a big mistake to think that this war is over. That is a big mistake because still our soldiers, I think great people, our soldiers, people who work in the electricity industry who are against each day against iranian drones you know and lose lose their lives i mean that all these people still will lose our people still will lose our ukrainians different people, soldiers, and not only soldiers. I mean, you can't say that the war is over. Because you know Russia, because you know the Kremlin and their president, he always wants to come back, you know, come back.

Because it's his ambitious plan. I don't think that it's a healthy plan. Yes. But anyway, so we have to be strong. We can't be strong without the war. We can't be strong without the United States, especially society. Of course, President Biden, Congress, two parties, they support us and thank you so much.

But anyway, without Americans, just ordinary people, without their understanding what's going on in Ukraine, we will not win. It will be very difficult. It will be too long. And you know, in a very long way, in a very long war, it's always very difficult to find who is the winner when you lose each day people.

Understand? So we want peace. And that's why we are fighting for our houses, our children, our families. That's it. So people have to understand. If they really want to understand what's going on in Ukraine, please come and see. We still fight and it's still difficult for us, but we are staying strong. Really. We want to win because we want peace. It's not just to win want to win because we want peace. It's not just to win because somebody wants to win. It's not

like the World Cup, like it was yesterday. It's another thing. We want to win just for the peace. We fight for the peace, not for the war. It's two different emotions that Kremlin, yes, and Russian political leaders and what want we. That's it. I understand and I appreciate you communicating in English. It will matter to the audience and your English is very good, by the way. I don't know why you don't use it more, but that's your choice. Not so good as yours. That's why I don't use it so often. It's much better than my Ukrainian. Are you worried? Are you worried that when the Republicans take over in the United States Congress, Ukraine may not receive the same support it is getting now? Of course, you know, of course, everybody in Ukraine worries about it.

Yes, because we need support. But, you know, I think, you know, politics is the politics. And war for freedom, that is the war for freedom. That's why different cases and it's not about elections, it's something another, I think more important, more ambitious, more important for next generations. So we can't speak politically about the war in Ukraine. You can do it during the election, but now everything is over. I think and I really believe that Ukraine will have two-party support.

And for us, it's very important. And I think Republicans will support us as guys from Democratic Party. I really believe. What is your biggest fear? It's hard to say right now. It's hard to tell when you're in war. You change your attitude to everything. In reality, things you were afraid of before, right now, you're more scared.

There are different priorities right now. What is the bigger fear for a lot of people? It probably depends on whether you have war goals in your country. Зараз відносишся до цього спокійно. Зараз інші пріоритети. Що таке більший страх і менший страх, напевно, залежить цього від того, чи є війна у тебе в державі, чи немає. страх для мене. Не побачити своїх дітей, напевно, це так. І я думаю, що і в мирний час для людей це найбільший страх. Але я просто люди про це не думаю.

А коли війна, і коли вночі сьогодні були, остріли були, вибухли, я думаю, що кожен українець, я не виключений, у малий, треба зранку працнутися, щоб нічого не сталося своїми дітьми. Я думаю, що це найголовніини мого життя. Одна половина залишилась в моїй сім'ї, а друга програти в цій війні. Тому що дійсно страшно, що велика кількість людей віддала поєднання життя тоді ради чого. Просто так віддала, а ми зараз програли. І їй. And unfortunately, they never came back. This victory is for them very much. of those women who did not meet their husbands, of those children who brought their father to the front and he, unfortunately, did not return. For them, this victory is very important. Do you see an end to the war in sight?

Of course. I'm confident. We're consistent, strong, and even if there are moments of stagnation and pauses, I'm, they will not be able to do it. It is essential that Ukraine has world support. That's very important. What do you want for Hanukkah? No, Chanukah has the same meaning. For Ukrainians, it means victory, the victory of the light over darkness. And that is why I wish victory for Ukraine, for the light to win over darkness. That is the essence for our fight.

When you're dealing with all this loss of power, the Festival of Lights has even more meaning. I look forward to meeting you again in Kyiv. I absolutely want to return to the country and show the American people that the fight is still on and that Ukraine is fighting for what we value in America. I wish you good luck, Mr. President. I wish you and your family and the whole Ukrainian family good luck and safety. Thank you for taking this time. Happy Hanukkah.

Best to you. Thank you so much. Thank you that you've been in Ukraine and you saw with your eyes everything that was going on in Ukraine. Thank you. That is one of the very important formats of supporting to be, to see, and then to inform people

just to say the truth. Thank you so much and I wish you good luck and again, thanks Americans for your support and good luck. I will see good luck. And again, thanks, Americans, for your support and good luck. I will see you soon. See you, of course. Bye bye.

So the question is, what direction does the world take with respect to Ukraine? It can't be just America's job to figure out how to help who certainly is the right side of that war. What about Europe? Will they pony up? Will they get involved in a way that they haven't to this point? This war matters beyond the borders of Ukraine and certainly more than it just interests Russia. This is not the end for Russia's ambition, and it is certainly the beginning of the test for whether or not this world comes together for anything bigger as an idea than just self-interest. Thank you for listening and watching, as always.

Subscribe, follow, and I'll see you next time.