He appears cheerful and optimistic in an interview with and while he is on an official visit to the United Kingdom.
More than four years after he invaded , he believes Europe’s biggest war since World War II appears to be slowly tilting in Ukraine’s favor.
The military situation is the most promising for the last two and a half years, says Zelensky. “We cannot say that she is losing this war. But we can say that they are losing the dominant role, day by day,” he insists.
Big losses for Russia
Last week, as Zelensky reports, it suffered a series of blows. Long-range Ukrainian drones have struck Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg, setting oil terminals on fire and sending plumes of smoke over the skyline. Similar attacks have paralyzed occupied Crimea. A key supply route is littered with burning trucks and tankers, and the peninsula, seized by Russia in 2014, is facing severe fuel shortages.
Meanwhile, on the eastern front, Russia’s slow and laborious advance has all but ground to a halt. According to Zelensky, who since 2022 has consistently stated that he believes that with sufficient support Ukraine can defend itself against its invader, the Kremlin is losing more than 30,000 troops a month, with 23,000-24,000 dead and the rest “severely” wounded.
The real number, Zelensky states, could be even higher. “Overall, this is a very large number. This means they are not winning the war,” he points out. Ukraine has also lost military personnel, albeit on a smaller scale.
The destruction continues
Moscow’s war may seem deadlocked, but the destruction continues and in recent months it has stepped up its airstrikes on Ukrainian cities and towns, with the apparent aim of terrorizing those not involved in the fighting, Zelensky tells the Guardian.
An attack last Tuesday used 73 missiles and 656 drones. Eighteen people were killed in Kiev and Dnipro, including a three-year-old boy. The boy was buried under the rubble of an apartment building. According to the city’s mayor, the Russians are deliberately using cluster bombs in residential areas.
Zelensky’s open letter to Putin
Last week, Zelensky wrote an open letter to the Russian president, proposing a face-to-face meeting to end this horrific conflict. Speaking Friday at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Putin dismissed the proposal. He called the letter “rude” and said Russia’s territorial claims – the Donbass region and two southern provinces of Ukraine – remain unchanged. In addition, he insisted that Russian forces are advancing in all parts of the front line, telling them: “Keep up the work, brothers.”
“Putin’s lies are glue”
Putin’s uncompromising attitude has led some observers to wonder whether he is delusional or whether his commanders are feeding him wrong information. Zelensky says these theories are plausible, but stresses that “the reason he’s lying doesn’t matter.” Putin, he adds, has lied about the war from the beginning, claiming it was necessary to seize Ukrainian territory to “save” Russian speakers. His lies are a glue, used to “unite” different elements of Russian society, he believes.
Political defeats for Russia
On the international stage, Russia has recently suffered several political defeats. In April, Putin’s closest ally in Europe, Viktor Orban, suffered a crushing defeat in Hungary’s general election. Recent efforts by Russia to support pro-Kremlin candidates in Moldova and – over the weekend – in Armenia have also failed. “They are losing influence in various countries, including Azerbaijan,” says Zelensky. He adds: “They are isolated within Europe, but also from the United States. Therefore, they are on their own.”
“Kiev – unlike US allies in the Gulf and Israel – has never received such support”
He began his second term in 2025 by declaring he would end the war, while Zelensky has tactfully praised US diplomatic efforts, despite his unpleasant meeting in the Oval Office, the friendly summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska last summer and cuts in US aid to Kiev.
Zelensky’s bitterness towards the USA
The president of Ukraine admits that Washington’s interest has turned to . “Of course, since the beginning of the war with Iran, their interest has shifted,” Zelensky says of the Trump administration. He understands why the US has consumed “so many missiles and weapons” in the war it has chosen to wage with Tehran. He wryly notes that Kiev – unlike US allies in the Gulf and Israel – has never received “such support”. “It’s a shame,” he says.
“We’re just missing the Patriots”
As of 2022, Ukraine has become a superpower in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles. Kiev, which once sought military aid from the West, has evolved into a hub of military industrial production and technological innovation. Several Arab countries have asked for its help in overthrowing the Iranian Shahed. The most important weapon that Ukraine now lacks, according to Zelensky, is the American-made Patriot. They are the only system capable of shooting down Russian ballistic missiles, which fall every night on sleeping Ukrainian citizens.
Zelensky and Europe
Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
On Sunday, Zelensky held talks in Downing Street with Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron. Zelensky said he repeated his call to his European allies to “close” Ukraine’s airspace – in other words, to help Ukraine fend off large-scale Russian drone and missile attacks. In addition to anti-ballistic interceptors, he is seeking financial support to turn Ukraine’s mobilized armed forces into a European-style contract army.
He acknowledges that Patriot missiles are expensive, costing $4 million each. The United Kingdom does not have its own anti-ballistic missile program. He believes London, Paris, Berlin and other EU states should work together to create an alternative to the US version. In return, Ukraine is ready to share its hard-earned experience in the field of drone warfare with its European friends. “The UK is among them. And NATO is very interested in this. This is invaluable information. Their volume is huge,” he says.
The goal is the recovery of Crimea
Zelensky is reluctant to mention future military operations. However, long- and medium-range drone attacks have made the recapture of Crimea – annexed by Russia in 2014 – a tantalizing, if distant, possibility. Ukrainian forces are engaged in destroying the peninsula’s supply infrastructure and attacking other military and energy targets across occupied southern Ukraine, it says. “It’s all about critical infrastructure. These help them militarize our Crimea. We are working on it,” he adds.
“Victory in this war will be when Russian society recognizes that war is horrible…”
For too long, many Russians have tried to ignore the war raging across the Ukrainian border. Zelensky says the purpose of the long-range attacks – in which drones flew over apartment buildings in the greater Moscow and St Petersburg area – is to make residents “feel” what war means. He adds: “Victory in this war will be when Russian society recognizes that war is horrible, that war is a tragedy not for someone, somewhere else, but for themselves. And I think that’s the dynamic.”
“Different views in Putin’s environment”
In May, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich secretly traveled to Kiev for talks with Zelensky. Zelensky is reported to have told Abramovich that he will never hand over the Donbass region, as Moscow wants. Explaining the meeting, he says: “I think there are different opinions in Putin’s environment. Half want this war to continue. Half want it to stop. And I think people who come from the business world understand that Russia’s economy is in terrible shape. It is very close to collapse.”
Zelensky and King Charles
Britain’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, left, greets the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street ahead of a meeting inside, in London, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Zelensky spoke to the Guardian newspaper shortly before meeting King Charles. The two men appear to have developed a warm and trusting relationship. Zelensky has previously revealed that the monarch urged Donald Trump, during his official visit to the UK last year, to support Ukraine, something the US president has shown a clear reluctance to do. If the war continues to progress favorably, could the monarch one day visit Zelensky’s palace itself in Kiev?
“Ukraine loves His Majesty. I would very much like to invite him to Kyiv. Maybe this year..”
The president of Ukraine smiled at the question. He shook his head enthusiastically. “You know, this morning when I was on the phone with my wife (Olena), with all due respect to Keir (Starmer), my wife sent her best wishes to the king. And then to the prime minister,” he confesses. “Ukraine loves His Majesty. I would very much like to invite him to Kyiv. Maybe this year. I don’t know from a security point of view, but of course we want to see him.”
Source: Guardian
