Jellyfish

“Everyone in the family will have a loss. Everyone will have some kind of grief in the family.

Hello,

THIS MESSAGE (MATERIAL) IS CREATED AND (OR) DISTRIBUTED BY A FOREIGN MASS MEDIA PERFORMING THE FUNCTIONS OF A FOREIGN AGENT AND (OR) A RUSSIAN LEGAL ENTITY PERFORMING THE FUNCTIONS OF A FOREIGN AGENT

this is Meduza's newsletter, where we usually briefly talk about the main events related to the war in Ukraine that took place during the day.

Today is a special issue - it will contain a fragment of an interview with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, which he gave to four Russian journalists - this is Meduza editor-in-chief Ivan Kolpakov, Dozhd TV channel editor-in-chief Tikhon Dzyadko, journalist and writer Mikhail Zygar (he also gave Zelensky one question from the editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov) and Kommersant special correspondent Vladimir Solovyov (not to be confused with the propagandist of the same name).

The entire interview can be read here . We highly recommend doing this. This is the first major interview Zelensky has given to Russian journalists since the start of the war. It has been going on for over a month now.

* Dozhd is declared a "foreign agent" in Russia. We are forced to indicate this at the request of the authorities.

— Mr. President, how has your personal attitude towards Russians changed since February 24, 2022? Do you still have people in Russia whose opinion is still important to you? And the hardest question. Do you think that Ukrainians and Russians will ever be able to normalize relations?

- First. Despite the fact that I am the president and should be a fairly pragmatic person, the attitude after the 24th has deteriorated. It got worse a lot. The emotional component [of the relationship] to the Russian Federation, to the people, has been lost. Even to the people. Even though I understand intellectually that [in Russia] there are a lot of people who support Ukraine. I am grateful to them, because without word of mouth, without the work of honest journalism, without the inner potential of a Russian person who is for justice and for Ukraine ... And yes, let him be, first of all, for himself - which means that he will be for Ukraine in this situation. Because a war on our territory will not bring anything good to this Russian person, if he is aware of it. Attitudes deteriorated among the entire population.

There is irreversibility. I'll tell you, and you'll probably understand now. In 2014, when it all started, shall we say, the Russian-speaking areas of Ukraine — or Russian-speaking families, if you will — were hopeful that it would now end. Now it will end. A lot of things happened, misunderstandings, and for many years it grew, and so on ... Some of these families - they believed that everything was still possible ... Something is somehow possible. That's exactly what I'm telling you. So here it is: something like that. Without specifics - because the war. And there was an exact understanding that something was needed somehow.

When I went to the presidency, I understood that everything needed to be done to stop the war - and that propaganda had to be fought. By your example, you need to show what you want to change: change the country, change relations with neighbors, return everything, so to speak ... In a sense, even return everything back. In some ways, until 2014. Find understanding. Sit down at the negotiating table.

Today, this month, there has been a global, historical, cultural split. Global. This is not just a war. I think this is much worse.

Some people [with whom I maintain relations] remained in Russia. First, we are talking to you. And secondly, there are people who have left Russia. It’s not that I support the departure – this is their internal decision, which has been made. There are people of culture, people of art, with whom one can find certain arguments. Let's just say they find it. They are the reading percentage of the nation who will figure it out. But the deep disappointment [is] that a high level of population supports Russia for various reasons. I don't even want to say that this is informational [war], brainwashing. Look, this is, on the one hand, yes. On the other hand, propaganda is also an excuse.

Let's be honest, that's just an excuse. It's impossible not to notice a total war for so many years, right? You could say a week. We were told one thing, something else happened. Do you understand? It's not even 9/11 in the States, you know? The tragedy that everyone saw! Not really. And not the explosions of houses in Moscow, which you remember, and so on. It's not like that. It's not just one step. It's eight years, damn it! It's a long time. In eight years, people begin to complete their schooling; you can grow up, get educated, learn a subject, become a professional in any form.

I would just go to journalism, go to investigators. I would find it myself, I would dig - if I really want to understand what to do with it. But if I don't want to, then I don't want to. It is easier for me to maintain the current regime. And I think that this is the most terrible disappointment that happened. Disappointment turned into hatred of peoples.

I don't have an answer on how to get it back. I don't have an answer if it will ever come back. I am not a prophet. And it will be decided by those people who ...

Look, I'll tell you this: a few more months, and everyone in the family will have a loss - this or that. Kicked out, wounded, something happened to a child, a person moved, went to Poland, went to Bulgaria, went to another [country], did not find a job or found a job, it does not matter. Doesn't matter. Scared. The child began to stutter because of the explosions, God knows. Everyone will have some kind of grief in the family. Some grief. Certainly not World War II. Of course, not the years of occupation. We [really] haven't finished yet, so… But the technologies are different.

But the occupation is also tougher, because it's more intense, you understand? Because the occupation is taking place... I don't even want to compare it with fascism. I don't want to compare. We understand that occupations are different… You are profound, educated people, you know how things happened in different years, in different [historical] periods of occupation, one way or another. It was unprofitable to wipe cities off the face of the earth, because when you occupy, it is necessary that someone live and work there. You will be washed your panties there, you, a military man, a soldier. You're standing there - who should do it? Wash, clean, cook, eat, live somewhere. Movie theaters worked in France and so forth, you know? It's not like that here. Generally not so. Here they enter: if the local government or someone does not want to, the local government was removed; people start shouting something there - everything is burned out.

The entire interview with Vladimir Zelensky can be read here . Once again, this is the first big interview that Zelensky gave to Russian journalists since the beginning of the war.

No war. Your Medusa