Sep 26, 2025 - World

Exclusive: Zelensky didn't think he'd survive this long after invasion

Axios' Barak Ravid interviews Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for "The Axios Show" in New York on Wednesday. Photo: Christopher Gill for Axios

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told "The Axios Show" that in the opening hours of Russia's invasion, he could not have imagined still being alive and in office 3.5 years later.

The big picture: The fact that the war is ongoing is both deeply tragic and quite remarkable, given initial expectations among many Western officials and military experts that Russia would steamroll through the Ukrainian lines.

What he's saying: Axios' Barak Ravid asked Zelensky if, at the beginning of the war, he thought he would still be "sitting here" in 2025.

"Of course not. 100%, no," Zelensky responded.

Flashback: Ravid's question referenced a plea for support Zelensky made to EU leaders on the war's first full day. "This might be the last time you see me alive," he told them in a video conference.

Zelensky recalled holding a stream of phone calls that day, five to 10 minutes at a time, with various world leaders. "I just shared with them all my emotions, and all my thoughts."

The bottom line: "I understood that it would be difficult for us. Of course I didn't know that I will be — we all, my team — will be alive in 3.5 years," he said.

"I thought of only one thing: how to join my country [together] now, and how to give signal that somebody from Europe will help us, somebody will help us from the world."

Go deeper:

Add Axios on Google

Exclusive: Zelensky didn't think he'd survive this long after invasion

What to read next