Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a 3-hour interview to American podcaster Lex Friedman on January 6, 2025. They talked about Ukraine’s vision of a just peace, war in Ukraine today, the reasons for Russian aggression, and the willingness to cooperate with the new administration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
The Ukrainian Review has gathered the reaction of the world media to the Ukraine news war in an interview between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Lex Friedman.
American media
Journalists from The Washington Post wrote that “Ukraine is cooperating with podcasters and YouTube channels that have an audience among Trump and Republican supporters.”
According to the media, “top members of Trump’s new team, including Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and billionaire adviser Elon Musk, have expressed antipathy towards Zelenskyy and Ukraine and indicated that they would like to reduce aid to Ukraine.” This is the reason for the 3-hour interview.
The article quotes Tymofiy Mylovanov, head of the Kyiv School of Economics, as saying that the interview was widely discussed on X (formerly Twitter). He noted that many supporters of Ukraine were upset by Lex Friedman’s questions, but there were skeptics who, on the contrary, changed their opinion of Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the better.
The journalists also note that in recent years the popularity of podcasts in the United States has only grown. However, they remained an untapped resource among politicians and their audience “was influenced by more pro-Russian views on the war.”
As for the interview itself, the article only mentions 3 points: Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s reaction to the embezzlement of Western aid, his obscene remarks about the Budapest Memorandum, and his denial that Vladimir Putin loves his country.
British media
Journalists of the British media BBC recalled the interview of Lex Friedman and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the context of the news about the renewal of the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region. They emphasized that Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that “security guarantees that will lead to the end of the war will be effective only if they are provided by the United States under the leadership of Donald Trump”.
It is also noted that the President of Ukraine highly appreciated the influence of Donald Trump and his ability to stop Russian aggression.
Emphasis on peace negotiations: French media
One of the most visited French news sites, Francetvinfo, published article about an interview with a focus on peace talks: “Trump and I will reach an agreement — and I am sure that he will be able to offer reliable security guarantees with Europe — then we will be able to talk to the Russians.”
The journalists emphasize that Volodymyr Zelenskyy “highly praised the future American president” and that “the Ukrainian president reiterated his hope that Donald Trump will be able to end the war.”
The article emphasized that Lex Friedman asked questions in Russian and Volodymyr Zelenskyy answered in Ukrainian. However, in reality, Lex Friedman did not always speak Russian — and also in English, and constantly emphasized that his Russian was not very good.
The article does not analyze any more topics from the three-hour interview.
Also about peace negotiations: German media
Journalists from the German media Der Spiegel also write with an emphasis on peace talks and Donald Trump: “Volodymyr Zelenskyy is convinced that a “strong” newly elected US president can force Russia to hold peace talks and end the war in Ukraine”.
The article also notes that Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that “Ukraine wants peace. People in the country believe that Trump can ensure peace and stop Putin. And that he will make sure that Putin does not get everything he wants”.
However, no topics that were raised in the interview were mentioned again.
Nothing: Chinese media
We analyzed 3 Chinese media outlets – Xinua, People’s Daily and CGTN, but none of them mentioned the interview between Lex Friedman and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Interestingly, Lex Friedman wants to interview Vladimir Putin. Will the Chinese media mention him?
Maria Zakharova’s Quotes: Serbian Media
The Serbian media outlet Politika wrote several news stories based on an interview with Volodymyr Zelenskyy by Lex Friedman.
This news story talks about security guarantees for Kyiv: “security guarantees to end the war with Russia can only be effective if they are provided by the United States of America.” The journalists also mentioned that Volodymyr Zelenskyy “supports the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron to deploy a peacekeeping contingent on the territory of Ukraine” and that he said that “one day Russia will apologize to Ukrainians for the war against their country”.
This news story talks about Donald Trump: “he can really stop Putin, but after Trump’s term ends, Putin can attack again.” It is also mentioned that “the president of Ukraine respects billionaire Elon Musk and would like him to be on Ukraine’s side as much as possible”.
In this news, journalists quote Volodymyr Zelenskyy that “Ukraine has 980 thousand armed people who are fighting against Russia on all fronts, and the Ukrainian army is “the largest in Europe”.
The Politika media also wrote that the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, called the new interview of the head of the Kyiv regime, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a hellish mixture of neo-Nazism and terrorism with drug delirium.
Strange manipulations: Hungarian media
The Hungarian media outlet Magyar Nemzet wrote about an interview with a rather provocative headline “Zelenskyy admitted what he plans to do with the Russian-Ukrainian war + video”.
The news item states that Volodymyr Zelenskyy “would like to hold talks with Trump on January 25”. However, this is a manipulation, since this opinion and date were expressed by Lex Friedman.
The following analyzes Ukraine’s position on the start of peace talks: “If more weapons are delivered to Ukraine. If the ceasefire regime works, no one will use these weapons. The weapons should remain, all respect to the United States”.
Also nothing: African media
In the South African media Africanews, which we usually analyze, we also found no mention of the interview between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Lex Friedman.
At the same time, there is news that “Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s openness to dialogue with US President-elect Donald Trump”.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s interview with Lex Friedman was not only a media event, but also a significant diplomatic step – it was an attempt by the Ukrainian authorities to convey Ukraine’s position and Ukraine war latest news today to an audience that is not sympathetic to it.
The interview was mentioned in the world media: it drew attention to the Ukrainian vision of a just world, the role of the new US administration and the challenges facing Ukraine in the conditions of war
However, the media reaction showed that the fight for the truth in the conditions of information warfare remains a difficult task. Manipulations, out-of-context quotes and the silence of certain regions demonstrate how important it is to continue to use all available platforms for communication.
Anya Ostymchuk
