Zelensky accuses Vance of "somehow justifying Putin's actions"
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaking during his interview on CBS' "60 Minutes." Screenshot: "60 Minutes"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited President Trump to Ukraine during a "60 Minutes" interview broadcast Sunday in which he addressed his fiery White House meeting in February.
The big picture: Zelensky said through an interpreter there had not only been "a shift in tone" in the U.S., but also "a shift in reality" as he suggested Russian leader Vladimir Putin's narrative had cut through to the Trump administration, and he singled out Vice President JD Vance.
- A Vance spokesperson pushed back on the remarks Monday, calling them "counterproductive."
What they're saying: "I don't want to engage in the altered reality that is being presented to me," Zelensky told CBS' Scott Pelley during the interview that was filmed in his hometown of Kryvyi Rih, where 10 adults and nine children were last week killed in a Russian missile attack near a playground.
- "First and foremost, we did not launch an attack," said Zelensky, addressing Trump's false claims in February that Ukraine had started the three-year-old war.
- "It seems to me that the vice president is somehow justifying Putin's actions," Zelensky said of Vance, who accused him during their White House meeting of showing disrespect and of misleading visitors by taking them on "propaganda tours."
- "I tried to explain, 'You can't look for something in the middle. There is an aggressor and there is a victim. The Russians are the aggressor, and we are the victim,'" added Zelensky in the interview that was filmed on Friday, the day White House envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Russia.
- Representatives for the White House and Vance did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.
The other side: Vance's office disputed Zelensky's characterization of Vance's position and called his comments "counterproductive."
- In a statement to Axios on Monday, Taylor Van Kirk, press secretary to the vice president, said Vance "has repeatedly said that this war was not justified to begin with, and is the product of Joe Biden's weakness and incompetence."
- "Instead of mischaracterizing Vice President Vance's rhetoric," the spokesman added, "President Zelensky should be focused on bringing this conflict to a peaceful conclusion. His comments are counterproductive to the goal of achieving peace for his country."
What we're watching: Zelensky spoke English when he appealed directly to Trump during the interview, saying Ukrainians "want you to come" and see for himself.
- "Please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead," he said.
- "Come, look, and then let's move with a plan how to finish the war. You will understand with whom you have a deal. You will understand what Putin did. ... You can go exactly where you want, in any city which been under attacks."
Of note: Zelensky switched back to speaking Ukrainian as he paused to answer Pelley's question about whether he thinks the U.S. has Kyiv's back.
- "I want to answer truthfully and quickly that the United States is our strategic, strong partner. But the pause is doubt," he said.
- "I don't doubt that the people of America are with us. But in a long war, many details are forgotten. In Europe everyone fears that the United States may drift away from Europe," he added.
- "I think without the United States we will suffer great losses. Human and territorial. So, I wouldn't like to consider that. But this is our destiny, our land, our life. One way or another, we will end this war."
Go deeper... "Three strikes": Inside the Trump-Vance fury with Zelensky
Editor's note: This story was updated with a response from a Vance spokesperson.
