The Journal. - An Exclusive Interview With Ukraine’s President Zelensky

Episode Date: September 23, 2026

This week, during the United Nations General Assembly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss a “winter package” of military equipment. After the meeting, Zelensky sat down with WSJ’s editor in chief Emma Tucker to discuss the future of the almost 5-year conflict. Watch the full interview here. Further Listening: - The Man Leading Ukraine - Ukrainian President Zelensky's Fight Against Corruption Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Russia's war in Ukraine has dragged on, Ukraine has gone on the offensive. Its advanced drones have been hitting deep inside Russia, and it's inflicted major damage to Russia's oil refineries. Ukraine hitting Russia with a massive drone attack over the weekend. It came on the final day of Russian election. This week, Ukrainian president Volodomir Zelensky is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. He spoke before other world leaders earlier today.

Sometimes it may seem that Ukraine is focused, focused only on war because we speak about weapons, we speak about defense and sanctions against the aggressor. But Ukrainians did not choose this war. We choose not to die, not to lose our country, our families, not to lose our independence, our freedom. The day before his UN speech, Zelensky sat down with the Wall Street Journal's editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker. Well, now I feel very much put upon that I'm going to have to try and say, how do I say it? Lascavo.

Proximo. Prosimo. It's been welcome. Well, indeed. Welcome. Thank you very much for being here. And very good pronunciation. During their conversation, Tucker asked Zelensky about the populacek.

possibility of a ceasefire on striking energy infrastructure, what Ukraine needs to get through the winter, and how the nation is handling the stress after nearly five years of war. Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Ryan Knudson. It's Wednesday, September 23rd. Coming up on the show, an exclusive interview with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. After attending the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Zelensky met with President Donald Trump. During the meeting, Zelensky asked Trump for an aid package of military equipment to help Ukraine survive the winter.

A few hours after that meeting, Zelensky spoke with Emma Tucker at a Wall Street Journal event. Here's an edited version of their conversation. Like I said, delighted to have you here. It's a great honor. Thank you for joining us. I know you've had a very busy day, including a meeting with President Trump. What can you tell us about that meeting?

So I'm very thankful that we had the opportunity to speak about almost everything. Not everything, but the main things, what we really need, on what we can count, how to bring peace closer, about winter, winter packages, how to defend our people. And it's also very difficult to speak. when you know that at this moment there is attack on your native country people and that's why it's, I mean, this balance, to hold this balance is not simple. We spoke about energy ceasefire and food security. One thing I wanted to ask you was, did he ask you again to stop bombing Russian refineries?

Not today, yes. So, no, no, if really, I mean, so it's not a secret that American partners raised this topic and between us before President Trump. Be honest, it's, you know, it's time to time. It's raising and the topic is increasing when there is some deficit and et cetera. But our, you know, it's, we respond. We have to be strong and we have to show Putin that he's not alone on this planet. even if it's his dream and that's why he has to

respect people. People, how Russians can respect people only, it's a pity but it's only when you show that you are strong. They don't respect weakness even sometimes when people want to be weak. It's normal

for people to be weak to live, to spend time, to love children but now you have to demonstrate with Russians, you have to demonstrate that's why you have to respond. take our electricity, we have to respond on their painful moments, I mean, some sensitive moments like energy. That's why our signal is next that ceasefire on energy. It doesn't matter what energy you use or your people use. So ceasefire on energy, it's time to end the war,

yes, to show something, something de-escalating. So I want to talk about the prospects for an energy ceasefire in a minute. But just to go back to the... Ukrainian attacks on the Russian refineries. Did the president bring up the specific issue of diesel prices? Because we know that this is something that's very much top of his mind at the moment. Yeah, today we didn't talk about it, but by phone, yes, really we read this topic about the diesel, especially about diesel. I said, look, maybe for somebody, it's important, for our lives, are more important than the price on energy. And between us, I mean, it doesn't depend on us. I will be honest, everybody understands the volume of our moose has influence.

It's not the volume from Russia. But in any way, even if these has influence, if everybody wants to help just people with diesel or with prices on diesel, okay, help us to stop Putin with blackouts on territory of Ukraine to attack our civil infrastructure. Water supplies. Water is not an enemy for Putin. I mean, just water for people. So if he attacks, he has to understand that the respond will come from Ukraine, and we will do it, of course, definitely. Till the end, till the war will end. So clearly you're not backing down.

What would Russia have to do for Ukraine to stop bombing the refineries now or to sort of dial it down? What does Russia have to offer? Energy ceasefire. And energy ceasefire. I mean, it doesn't matter what kind of energy, I think so. When people want to say, look, stop here, we will stop here, then you have to stop here and you will stop there. It's difficult. It's too much, I think.

If you don't want to attack energy, anything, energy supplies, petrol, diesel, refineries, gas, water supplies, because it depends on electricity, on deficit and etc. Electricity. If you decided not to attack critical infrastructure, it's been critical infrastructure. There is a list of critical infrastructure. And I think all the respect leaders of nations have to know what does it mean. Not to attack energy. It's very clear what does it mean. Putin talks a lot about the successes of Russia on the battlefield.

But we also hear that his generals aren't telling him the truth. Do you have any insight as to whether or not Putin genuinely doesn't know the truth about the state of play? Or does he know and talks about the wins in order to convince. the West and his own people that Russia is winning? So first of all, the situation on the battlefield is not successful for Putin. So he is not winning, it's true. And he is not losing. It's also true because for him, human losses, it's not to lose.

For Ukraine, it's to lose because you lose people. It's been that you lose in the war because all this is about humanity at the end. So that's why he's not winning because on the battlefield almost everything gets freezing, I mean moving a little bit. The problem is that his generals, as you said, he shared with him information. And I don't know, he doesn't want to know the details or he knows the details and I don't know what is the difference. But it doesn't matter. So for today he doesn't feel that he has to stop. Right.

This is the problem. How are you preparing? I mean, clearly then you're in for a long winter and how are you, I mean, is Ukraine ready for what comes next over this winter, which is likely to be a difficult and challenging one for you to get through? So all this period of the war is the period of surviving of our nation. In any way, it's not normal life. And just to close the ice and say that's its normality,

the new normality and etc. No, no, it's not normal life. And that's why, of course, you have to prepare. I hope, and we have a chance to stop and end this war before the winter. If, there are several if. Over the ifs. Now we have, yeah, of course, the first if is always the will. The will of the United States, especially of the president, political will to end.

I mean, he has a political will to end. But with Putin, it's not enough to will. I mean, for Putin, you need to pressure. The second, technologies, we need some technologies from the United States. We have our experience. We're always ready to exchange, but we need something from the United States. We need winter package. missiles for patriots systems.

I mean, this is important, very important, to have everything. Now, if you want to end the war now, you need to react now. So did you get a sense from the conversation you had with President Trump earlier as to what the American plan now is to end the war in Ukraine? The Anchorage proposal was, you know, it hasn't gone anywhere. Do you know now where President Trump's head is on this? No, President Trump's idea is to mediate and put at the table of negotiations, Putin and me. And it's not simple.

It's not simple because one of us is not ready. Yeah. And so this is the first. The second is to find some solution. And when you want solution, you want to find some compromises. It's again not simple. because one of us is not ready for compromises. The problem for us is to wait and to go like we began to speak about it, about winter,

and to go through winter and to survive and to lose so many people. This time costs, I mean, the price is very high. We can stop this war. I think that Putin said to President Trump, I think that he needs our territory and he wants us to live out our territory. And this is the problem for us. Because how you can, I mean, this, I mean, we didn't do it at the very first day of the war. We've been strong in our people and our children.

And they're still, I think, is tied, very tired, is through a long war. But they're strong, but we didn't do it first day of the war. after all these days of surviving and just to sell our independence and sell our freedom. I think it's not about us. I want to ask you about another meeting you had recently, and that was with John Rackcliffe, the CIA director, who you saw when you were in Ireland, I believe. It's a secret.

It's a secret. Dan, you can't tell me. He told me it's a secret. No, no, he didn't tell me. But has he got a role now in ongoing negotiations? No, I mean, we decided that we will not cheer that we had a meeting. It's too late, the cat's out of the bag. But we decided.

That's a very good answer. Sorry. I'm so sorry. But he's looking good. He's looking good. Sorry. Sorry. Are you going to see him again while you're here? It's a secret.

I'm sorry. I can't. Who else would you like to see while you were here? We were chatting earlier and you mentioned that you would like to have a meeting with Elon Musk. Can you tell us what you would be sitting down to discuss with him? Now, first of all, we are thankful to his company, to SpaceX, and to Ilan, we really had good connection for our people during these challenges during the war with Starlings. It's important, yes, very important. The problem is that China is very close to such technologies, and they will share it with Russia.

And it's true. they began to do it and to be very how to say precise of yes to be very precise of Ukraine attacking us it was it was several times already when they tried to use this new technology not massively but they are on the way they're training practical time so they use it's just the army this used the window of just the of the house the drone came just to the window and hold and waited for the people and then attack when the people came came and attacked. So it's new things. Between us, what really United States of America has. I mean, you have such technologies. Yeah. Yeah. And China will share it with Russia already shared.

We think that at the end of December, January, that they will share this technologies. And this is a fact that that's why I just wanted to speak with, I mean, not I wanted. I have we spoke with with Elon. I mean, our teams have to speak about it. I think it's important. It's important because all the technologies which are today are using, you know, on the territory of Ukraine, the answer is where instead of what? Why North Koreans are using technologies and learning in Ukraine,

North Korean soldiers will come to this war? For what? To help Russians? No, I'm not sure. to, first of all, to get experience, to prepare the operators of drones, to prepare and to learn new technologies, new way of this world, absolutely new. Yes. And then what they will do, where they will use it.

Yeah, they will use it on the territory where there are their interests. And that's why I think that the China is using their technologies with Russia, Not because there were great friends, brothers and sisters, not of course. Yes, everything is very pragmatic because they will need this experience somewhere. That's why I always say that it is during this war, this experience, this too long war with all this military technologies, we have to understand that the distance between, I mean, there is no distance in this war at all, at all. That's why we need to share technologies. We need to share help.

We need to share support. We have to stop any kind of terrorism, any kind of aggressor, we have to stop them. Tell me a bit about your own ballistic and anti-ballistic programs that you're developing your own. What's the state of play with these programs? So for today in the world, we know that one of the best is. the Patriot System, what the United States has not only United States, some Asia partners, and as I said, some licenses in Europe. So on this track, we want to have licenses for the future.

Yes, but in parallel way, this one is great, but it's very expensive, and not enough. Yes, not enough for the Europe and for the world between us, because of production is so small, even with the increasing steps, which I know are. American government provide it and it will increase but not enough. Yes. And we'll never enough. So we wanted to create the anti-ballistic system with cheap missiles with our experience and to give it, to give the licenses to other countries, to give them possibility to save themselves,

to give them not even. for the war, for peace time, that their societies will, I mean, this will be sure in tomorrow and will come down and know that their shield is closed. That's what I wanted to create and to share it, because it's so difficult to get one missile. That's why I wanted us to create thousands and millions of this missile, just to give people because they need it, I'm sure, just to have it. And that's why we began to work on it. And we think that in winter, end of this year, beginning next year, we will have, we hope so.

To have the first system just to try and how it will work. This is the system. The name is Freya. And God bless it will work. No, God bless it will not work because we will have peace. Because it will be able. I just want to... We haven't got much time left, so I've got a couple more questions.

One of them is very specific. I want to go back to the meeting you have with President Trump today. Did he ask you to withdraw your support for the International Criminal Court? No. Has he asked you to? Never. About criminal court? Yeah, the International Criminal Court.

No, we never spoke about it. Okay. Really? Good. Maybe I'm, maybe I was sleeping at this period of time. That would be understandable. Or maybe this part we talked in Ireland. Maybe, ah.

It was a joke. It was a joke. You should be careful. There are a lot of journalists in this room. So I have, my last question for you is about you. So we're very soon this war is going to have been going on for five. years and I interviewed you, I think it was three or four years ago, and even then, you know, you'd been at it for two years and I asked you how do you deal with the stress and you talked

to me about helping your son with his homework. We're now facing... I still have small son. Do you still help him with his own work? No, no, he's not so small. All right. How do you deal with the stress yourself now? I don't know.

I'm not sure that I really deal. No, I mean, what we do, we try, you know, we try to do our job in the way when even it's not that people will respect you. It's about in the way that you can continue after the war and after this presidential job. You will continue living in your country, go through the streets, and nobody will want to kill you. and hate you. I mean, just because you've been like a piece of shit, not a leader and not a man, not, I mean, this is just, I mean, this is what you do.

How would the way, how you live and the way how you try to live. Sometimes with all my mistakes and et cetera, during the war, you have so many mistakes. Why? Because you have to, how President Trump said, make a deal. So you have to make a deal. make hundreds of deals per day, not comfortable, very sensitive. Sometimes, I know, when you don't even want to do this, but you have to.

Yeah, so a lot of things. And that's why it's all about that you think that it's your attitude to your job, your country and your people. at the end of the days everything is around people so people give you energy to live and also

there are people whom you hate and they took all your energy and yes and that's why it's all about it so I try to live for good people I hope that there are

around us a lot of good people hope so President Zelensky, I'm sure the good people in this room are hoping for a deal and that you finally get some less. Thank you so much. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much. Go? Okay. Bye-bye. That's all for today. Wednesday, September 23rd. The journal is a co-production of Spotify and the Wall Street Journal.

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