An hour with President Zelenskyy
Ukraine in search of "diplomatic solutions" at critical moment in war
More than 1,000 days have passed since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Russia has occupied about 20 percent of Ukraine's territory, with their militaries engaging in fierce combat along front lines stretching for some 1,000 kilometers.
After Ukrainian forces launched a cross-border offensive into Russia's western region of Kursk in August, Moscow also made a new move by deploying North Korean troops to the area. Russian forces, meanwhile, are advancing faster in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. The United States, the largest supporter of Ukraine in the war, will have a new president in January as Donald Trump, who has called for a quick end to the conflict, returns to the White House for a nonconsecutive second term.
With the war at a crossroads, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sat down for an exclusive interview with Kyodo News on Dec. 1, discussing various aspects of the conflict for about an hour. He spoke candidly about the situation Ukraine is now facing, saying the conflict has entered a "complicated period."
Chronology of the Fierce Battle
Feb. 24, 2022
Russia launches full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the name of protecting its citizens in the east, home to pro-Russia separatist areas.
People prepare Molotov cocktails in a yard in Kyiv on Feb. 27, 2022, as Russian troops press towards the Ukrainian capital. (AP/Kyodo)
April 2, 2022
Brutal killings of civilians in Ukrainian town of Bucha near Kyiv comes to light following the withdrawal of Russian troops from the area.
An Orthodox priest prays near the coffins of unidentified civilians killed by Russian troops in Bucha, near Kyiv, on Aug. 17, 2022. (AP/Kyodo)
Sept. 30, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin unilaterally declares annexation of four occupied regions -- Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia -- in southern and eastern Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) poses for a photo during a ceremony to sign "treaties" with Moscow-appointed or pro-Moscow representatives that allowed four regions of Ukraine to join Russia, at the Kremlin in Moscow on Sept. 30, 2022. (AP/Kyodo)
Nov. 11, 2022
Ukraine liberates the city of Kherson from Russian occupation.
People ask soldiers to sign a Ukraine flag in downtown Kherson on Nov. 16, 2022 (Kyodo)
June 4, 2023
Ukraine begins counteroffensive, which later falters.
Ukrainian soldiers shoot at Russian positions outside Bakhmut, Ukraine, on June 19, 2023. (Anadolu Agency/Getty/Kyodo)
June 14, 2024
Putin sets out conditions for peace talks with Ukraine, which includes withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from four regions Moscow claims to have annexed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks during an online meeting in the suburbs of Moscow on June 28, 2024. (AP/Kyodo)
Aug. 6, 2024
Ukraine mounts cross-border attacks into western Russian region of Kursk.
People walk near an apartment building damaged by Ukrainian shelling, in Kursk, Russia, on Aug. 11, 2024. (AP/Kyodo)
Nov. 19, 2024
Ukrainian forces attack the western Russian region of Bryansk using U.S.-made land-to-land Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS.
Photo shared by the Russian Defense Ministry shows what appears to be debris from a U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles used in a Ukrainian attack on an air base in Russia's Kursk region on Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo courtesy of the Russian Defense Ministry)(Kyodo)
Nov. 21, 2024
Putin announces attack on Dnipro in eastern Ukraine using Russia's new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile.
Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the nation at the Kremlin in Moscow on Nov. 21, 2024, the day Russia fired a new hypersonic ballistic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. (AP/Kyodo)
Many Casualties
Citing a confidential Ukrainian estimate from earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal reported in September that about 80,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed and 400,000 wounded. On the Russian side, it said, some Western intelligence estimates put the losses as high as nearly 200,000 troops, with roughly 400,000 wounded.
In the interview, Zelenskyy rejected the figure of 80,000 deaths, saying the actual number was "much less." Pointing to Russia's use of "meat grinder" tactics with very little regard for human casualties, he claimed that since September, the ratio of Ukraine's soldier deaths to Russia's has been "one to eight." Later, on Dec. 8, he disclosed that around 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since Russia's invasion began in February 2022.
Deployment of North Korean Troops
Ukraine claims that many North Korean soldiers have been sent to Kursk by train and military aircraft after receiving training in the Russian Far East. The Ukrainian military has been carrying out cross-border attacks on the western Russian region since early August, and at one point, it controlled an area of 1,400 square km. With some of its own territory now under Ukrainian control, Russia has even sent North Korean soldiers into the region in its efforts to retake the lost land.
Footage released on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's account on X, formerly Twitter, shows what is claimed to be North Korean soldiers storming Ukrainian positions.
Footage released on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's account on X, formerly Twitter, shows what is claimed to be North Korean soldiers storming Ukrainian positions.
Zelenskyy predicted that North Korean soldiers will be sent to the front lines in the near future as "cannon fodder." Ukraine has produced a Korean-language video encouraging them to surrender. According to Zelenskyy, no North Korean soldiers have been captured yet.
Footage in Korean language calling on North Korean soldiers to surrender, promising safety, food and medical care in return. (Courtesy of “I want to live” project, launched by Ukraine to encourage Russian military personnel to surrender)
Footage in Korean language calling on North Korean soldiers to surrender, promising safety, food and medical care in return. (Courtesy of “I want to live” project, launched by Ukraine to encourage Russian military personnel to surrender)
Photo taken in Kyiv, Ukraine, in January 2024 shows debris identified to be that of a North Korean KN-23 short-range ballistic missile. (Kyodo)
Photo taken in Kyiv, Ukraine, in January 2024 shows debris identified to be that of a North Korean KN-23 short-range ballistic missile. (Kyodo)
He pointed out that North Korean soldiers will have been trained by the Russian military in real war conditions, learning about missiles, drones and electronic warfare. He warned that they will bring knowledge of modern warfare back to North Korea, saying the development is almost certain to pose a threat to the security of East Asia. Ukraine says North Korea has provided Russia with more than 100 ballistic missiles, with at least 60 of them having already been fired at Ukrainian territory by October, resulting in civilian casualties not only in settlements near the front lines but also in urban areas.
Additionally, Ukraine says that North Korea has dispatched military specialists to Russia to maintain and repair missile launchers, and it is believed that related data will be collected and used by Pyongyang for future arms development. It is known that the North Korean missiles contained electronic and other components manufactured by companies in other countries, including China, Germany, Japan and the United States.
Trump’s New Administration
Trump, who has said he would be able to stop the war "in 24 hours," will return to the White House in January. Within Trump's team, the idea of freezing the conflict at the current front lines while shelving Ukraine's aspirations for NATO membership for an extended period is being considered.
With Russia having taken about 20 percent of Ukraine's territory, settling in at the current positions would mean extending the occupation. For Ukraine, this would be extremely difficult to accept, as it would be tantamount to surrender. Zelenskyy met with Trump at Trump Tower in New York in September. He also called Trump shortly after the Nov. 5 presidential election to congratulate him.
Zelenskyy's remarks have signaled his sincere desire to keep the incoming president of the superpower on his side. In the interview, Zelenskyy emphasized that "everyone in Ukraine wants this war to end as fast as possible," and made the case that his basic position is the same as Trump's. He said he would be in close contact with Trump's team.
On Dec. 7, Zelenskyy visited France to coincide with a ceremony marking the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral and held a trilateral meeting with Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, during which they agreed to continue talks.
Course of War
February 2022
Dec. 18, 2024
Latest
Zelenskyy frankly admitted that the Ukrainian military's current strength is not sufficient to recapture some of the Russian-occupied parts of the country, such as Crimea, where the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet is based.
"We do have to find diplomatic solutions," he said, in an apparent shift from his long-held position, stated even in his peace plan, that Ukraine will fight to regain all territory seized by Russia. To move closer to NATO membership, he seems to have made the painful decision that a temporary occupation of Ukraine's territory by Russia is unavoidable.
Zelenskyy reiterated his conviction that NATO membership is the only way to prevent Russia from waging a new campaign of military aggression against Ukraine. But given the view gaining ground within Trump's team that Ukraine's NATO bid should be put to one side, whether the chasm between Zelenskyy and Trump can be bridged could be a crucial factor in determining if peace can be achieved.
Ukraine’s relations with Japan
Zelenskyy's trust in Japan is strong. Due to constraints under its pacifist Constitution, Japan faces high hurdles in providing support with military equipment, but it has been playing an active role in the restoration and preservation of energy-related facilities and the removal of land mines in Ukraine. Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude for Japan's support, calling it one of the "top five countries" that have assisted Ukraine along with the United States and Germany, which have given massive amounts of military aid to Kyiv.
Putin insists that entering negotiations with Ukraine would require Kyiv to withdraw troops from the four eastern and southern provinces that Russia has unilaterally declared annexed while also giving up its ambition to join NATO. The difference between Putin's position and Zelenskyy's is significant, with the impact of Trump's return yet to be seen. Will a compromise be reached? Developments over the next few months may determine the course of the war. The world is watching closely.
Content director : Yuki Murayama
Design : Yuka Yamada
Text : Genichiro Kodama, Kenichi Iinuma
Photo : Kenichi Iinuma, Yohei Fukai, Koji Harada
Video : Yuki Murayama
Text editors : Miya Tanaka, Takuya Karube, Janice Tang
Video Editors : Tom Shuttleworth, Kantaro Saki
Translation：Takuya Karube, Keita Nakamura
Production Support : Dmytro Vlokh, Kevin Chow, Ryuichi Kadota, Takuro Iwahashi, Takuya Hatakeyama
Background photos for section titles
Photo provided by the North Korean government shows leader Kim Jong Un meeting soldiers who took part in training in North Korea on March 13, 2024. (KCNA/KNS/AP/Kyodo)
Republican presidential nominee former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an election night event in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 6, 2024. (AP/Kyodo)
Ukrainian troops fire heavy mortar at Russian forces on the front line near Bakhmut in Ukraine’s Donetsk region on May 22, 2024. (AP/Kyodo)
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