Zelensky addressed Lex Friedman’s question on whether Ukrainians will forgive Russians in the future and if they will travel to Russia again.

President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that no one in Ukraine intends to forgive Putin and the Russians for the war crimes they have committed in Ukraine.

He made this remark during an interview with American podcaster Lex Friedman, in response to a question about the "reality" that a small compromise with Putin would be necessary to initiate peace negotiations and "forgive him."

"He is free after all the murders, and no one in the world can put him in his place and imprison him. Do you consider this a small compromise?" Zelensky asked.

"No one will forgive. It is absolutely impossible. We cannot get into the mind and soul of a person who has lost their family. No one will ever agree to that," he emphasized, asking Friedman if he has any children.

Friedman replied that he does not, but he would like to have some.

"This is the most precious thing; imagine having taken away your most cherished possession. If your child is taken from you, will you ask: 'Who did this?' You will be told: 'It was this guy.' You would say, 'Ah, well, then no questions.' No. You would go and, damn it, take off his head. And that would be just, because can you really forgive murderers?" the president stated.

He added that the best compromise would be Ukraine's accession to NATO, as then neither Russia would invade Ukraine nor Ukraine would invade Russia.

Friedman: "If you think that way, then it will be hard to negotiate. If you consider the president of a country to be completely insane, it is difficult to reach an agreement with him. You need to look at him as a serious person who loves his country and the people in that country, even if he is doing terrible military things."

Zelensky: "What does he consider his country? He suddenly considers Ukraine his country. Tomorrow he might say it's America. What about Chechens? Do you not pity them? They look like Russians and speak Russian? Of course, they learn it in schools, just like everywhere there is Russification. But Chechens are a different nation, with a different faith, different people, and a different language. A million [Chechens] have been destroyed. And how did he (Putin) kill them? With love? Damn it, in an embrace. He embraced them so tightly that they were suffocated, as they say. I love so much that it makes me want to kill – that’s his love," Zelensky remarked sarcastically.

"You are mistaken – he does not love his people. He loves his own little circle," he stressed.

"You cannot send people to die on foreign soil, knowing that they will die there. Children, 18-year-olds. He sends them. Nazis did not come to his land, and there was no need to defend. HE came to our land and sent children here. 788,000 Russians (as of today) have been killed or injured. Is this love? Love for what? Does he love his people?" Zelensky rhetorically asked.

When asked if Ukrainians and Russians could be friends again in the future and travel "back and forth," Zelensky noted that history has long answered this question, comparing the end of the war to the defeat of Nazi Germany.

"One generation, one country acknowledges that it was the aggressor, and that this cannot be forgiven. This is the education children in Germany have received for many years, even though they were not involved in that war. But they still apologize; they know they were guilty and do not seek a compromise. And the murderers (representatives of the Nazi regime. – Mind) were convicted, and reparations were paid. And when all this is done and acknowledged, people find a relationship among themselves. Russia will apologize because they are guilty – both those who participated and those who remained silent. Because silence is also participation," the head of state noted.

Background. In the interview, the president explained why he believes that Ukraine's membership in NATO also guarantees security for Russia. According to him, Russians will need to fear those Ukrainians who will seek revenge in the future. "A father who has lost children will seek justice," Zelensky emphasized.