Zelensky on The Diary Of A CEO podcast: Trump could easily bring Putin to the negotiating table; giving up Sloviansk and Kramatorsk would open the way further for Russia
Place: KyivRegion: Ukraine-wide and the front lineautomatic summary
Where the versions diverge
RIA Novosti reduces the interview to a complaint that Trump is not supplying missiles and presents it as an "attack" on the US president; it does not mention the call to pressure Putin with sanctions, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk or nuclear weapons. Ukrainian outlets headline exactly these topics and do not call Zelensky's words accusations. The independent BBC fact-check relayed by Meduza matches Zelensky's reply to Trump: the offensive on Kyiv was derailed by the resistance of Ukrainian troops, not by one general's mistake.
What Russia reports
automatic summary RIA Novosti covers the interview under the headline "Zelensky lashed out at Trump with accusations": in the agency's version he complained that the US president had not given him what he demanded, missiles, even though Europeans pay for them. The agency recalls that, according to CNN, Ukraine has run out of Patriot interceptor missiles and adds Moscow's position that arms supplies to Kyiv hinder a settlement. Other topics of the interview are not mentioned.
“Европейцы все это финансируют. Есть договоренность, но нам их не дают”
- Зеленский набросился на Трампа с обвинениями во время интервью — RIA Novosti, 22 October, 11:42
What Ukraine reports
automatic summary RBC-Ukraine, Ukrainska Pravda and Suspilne give a detailed account of the interview with Steven Bartlett. Zelensky says Trump could "very easily" bring Putin to the negotiating table if he turned on him the rhetoric he uses against Zelensky and imposed the sanctions already approved by Congress; he calls the blame for rising diesel prices in the US unfair and "completely untrue". If Russia were given Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the war could move further, into Dnipropetrovsk region towards Pavlohrad and Dnipro, and nobody offers guarantees; he calls a ceasefire the biggest compromise as it is. Answering Trump's words about a "loser general", Zelensky says Russian troops failed to take Kyiv not because of one general but because they did not expect resistance. In his view Putin will not risk using nuclear weapons, or Russia would lose all its allies.
“Трамп дуже легко може привести Путіна до столу переговорів, бо йому це потрібно.”
“Якщо ми віддамо їм ці наші міста, ризик величезний.”
“Це цілковита неправда.”
“Справа не в тому, що якийсь генерал був ідіотом”
“Але я не думаю, що вони ризикнуть застосувати ядерну зброю.”
- Трамп легко посадив би Путіна за стіл переговорів, - Зеленський — RBC-Ukraine, 22 October, 11:02
- Якщо ми віддамо Слов'янськ і Краматорськ, РФ піде далі, - Зеленський — RBC-Ukraine, 22 October, 10:45
- Зеленський: Трамп може допомогти завершити війну, але треба змінити риторику щодо Путіна — Ukrainska Pravda, 22 October, 11:58
- Річ не в генералі-лузері: Зеленський пояснив, чому росіяни так і не взяли Київ — RBC-Ukraine, 22 October, 11:37
- Путін не наважиться застосувати ядерну зброю, бо втратить всіх союзників – Зеленський — Ukrainska Pravda, 22 October, 11:31
- РФ може піти на Дніпропетровщину, якщо Україна вийде із Донеччини — Зеленський — Suspilne, 22 October, 11:56
What independent sources report
automatic summary Meduza relays a BBC Russian Service fact-check of Trump's story about a "stupid general" who drove tanks into the mud: the offensive on Kyiv from Belarus was commanded by Colonel General Alexander Chaiko, but its failure was not linked to any decision of his to turn off the road. The offensive was stopped by Ukrainian troops, who blew up the bridge over the Irpin and the Kozarovychi dam and destroyed an armoured column in Bucha. Independent outlets in the selection do not retell Zelensky's interview itself.
“Наступление на Киев остановили украинские военные.”
- Трамп обвинил в провале российского наступления на Киев «глупого генерала», который завел танки в грязь. Так… — Meduza, 22 October, 11:48
Confirmation
Confirmation: confirmed by independent sources
The event is reported by international or exile independent outlets and no contradictions in the facts between the groups were detected. This does not mean the independent outlets verified every detail.
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