Zelensky for CBS: The stakes of the war in Ukraine is the future world order

The future global order is at stake in our war with Russia. We are not some fiction or a book, but we are really fighting a nuclear power that threatens to destroy the world, emphasized the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, on the night from Sunday to Monday in an interview for the American CBS television.

– What will happen in 10 years if Ukraine collapses? Just realize it. If (Russians - ed.) reach Poland, what will happen next? World War III? We defend the values ​​of the whole world. Ukrainians pay the highest price. We are really fighting for our freedom, we are really dying, Zelensky recalled in the "60 Minutes" program.

In the opinion of the Ukrainian leader, Washington's financial and military assistance to Kyiv is not only support for Ukraine, but also for the entire democratic world, in particular the countries of NATO's eastern flank.

“The world must decide whether we want to stop Putin.”

– If Ukraine falls, Putin will certainly move on. What will the United States decide when Putin reaches the Baltic countries? When will it reach the border with Poland? He will do it. (...) The whole world must decides whether we want to stop Putin or start a world war. We cannot change Putin. Russian society has lost the respect of the world. They elected him, then re-elected him and raised a second Hitler. (...) We cannot turn back time, but we can stop them – argued Zelensky.

He added that the Kremlin will certainly use threats to use nuclear weapons to fuel unrest in the US and European countries. The risk of such actions is particularly high in the context of the United States presidential elections in November 2024.

In Zelensky's opinion, Moscow is counting on a change in the position of the American leader, because - according to Putin - it could result in a revision of Washington's assumptions regarding relations with Kiev and the US returning to closer cooperation with Russia.

The CBS interlocutor admitted that the progress of the Ukrainian army during the counteroffensive against Russian forces is slow, but the most important thing is not the quick liberation of territory, but the constant exhaustion of enemy forces.

– We have the initiative. We stopped the Russian offensive and launched a counter-offensive. (...) We must liberate our territory as much as possible and move forward, even if it is (...) a hundred meters (a day). We cannot give Putin any respite, Zelensky declared.

The president noted that the Russian army is consciously committing war crimes in Ukraine because it wants to break the will of resistance of the authorities in Kiev and Ukrainian society. – You cannot trust (Putin – ed.), who paved the way for himself with such bloody actions. He has not been human for a long time, he added.

UN General Assembly

The general debate with the participation of heads of state and government, the most significant part of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, will begin on Tuesday in New York. Zelensky, who will take part in this event, will also hold numerous bilateral talks in the US. The Ukrainian leader will meet, among others, with the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, and the President of the USA, Joe Biden.