‘They are isolated … they are alone’: Zelenskyy on Russia, Putin’s lies

‘They are isolated … they are alone’: Zelenskyy on Russia, Putin’s lies – and fighting back In a wide-ranging interview, an upbeat Ukrainian president also discusses Donald Trump, King Charles, and how Kyiv is prepared to share its experience of drone warfare with the west View image in fullscreen Sitting down with the Guardian in London, Volodymyr Zelenskyy seems cheerful. More than four years after Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion, he believes Europe’s biggest war since 1945 appears to be slowly turning in Ukraine’s favour. The military situation is the most promising it has been for Kyiv for two and a half years, Zelenskyy says. “We can’t say Russia is losing this war. But we can say they are losing the initiative each day, day by day,” he insists. Over the past week the Kremlin has suffered a series of setbacks. Long-range Ukrainian drones have hit Putin’s home city of St Petersburg, setting fire to oil terminals and sending smoke billowing above the skyline. Similar attacks have crippled occupied Crimea. A key supply road is littered with burning lorries and tankers and the peninsula seized by Russia in 2014 is experiencing severe fuel shortages. Meanwhile, on the eastern battlefield, Russia’s grinding advance has come to a near halt. According to Zelenskyy, who since 2022 has consistently said he believes that with sufficient support Ukraine can defend against its invader, the Kremlin is losing more than 30,000 soldiers a month, with 23,000-24,000 killed and the rest “heavily” wounded. The true figure, he suggests, could be even higher. “Totally, this is a very big number. It means that they are not winning the war,” he points out. Ukraine has lost service personnel too on a lesser scale. Moscow’s war may look stuck, but its destruction continues and it has in recent months intensified its aerial attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities with the apparent goal to terrorise those not involved in fighting. One attack last Tuesday featured 73 missiles and 656 drones. Eighteen people were killed in Kyiv and Dnipro, including a three-year-old boy. He was entombed under the rubble of an apartment block. According to the city’s mayor, the Russians are deliberately using cluster munitions in built-up areas. Last week, Zelenskyy wrote an open letter to Russia’s president, suggesting a face-to-face meeting to wind down this terrible conflict. Speaking on Friday at the St Petersburg economic forum, Putin rejected the offer . He characterised the letter as “rude” and said Russia’s territorial demands – the Donbas region and two southern Ukrainian provinces – were unchanged. He also insisted Russian forces were going forward across all parts of the frontline, telling them: “Keep working, brothers.” View image in fullscreen Volodymyr Zelenskyy interviewed in London for the Guardian Putin’s implacable stance has led some observers to wonder if he is delusional, or being fed wrong information by his commanders. Zelenskyy says these theories are plausible,