The Ukrainian leader has claimed that Russians are deaf and only “speak the language of weapons”
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky explained his refusal to give an interview to Lex Fridman entirely in Russian, the only language in which both he and the podcaster speak fluently, which would have made the conversation easier for wider audiences worldwide to follow.
In the introduction to the podcast published on Sunday, Fridman went to great lengths to explain why the conversation was conducted in a mix of Ukrainian, English, and Russian, and how listeners can switch audio tracks and subtitles to their liking.
“Our conversation will be most effective and impactful if we speak in Russian,” the podcaster said in his opening question, prompting Zelensky to respond that he speaks it “perfectly,” but won’t do so “because this is how it is.”
“The people who attack us speak Russian. They attack people who were only recently told that this was actually in defense of Russian-speaking people, and this is why I respect neither the leader nor the director of today’s Russia, nor the people. I just… that’s it,” he said.
Zelensky argued that he addressed Russians in their language back when the conflict escalated in 2022, but “they did not listen” and only “speak the language of weapons.”
This is why I honestly despise these people, as they are deaf. They began the occupation in supposed defense of the Russian language, and that’s why, with all due respect, I would like to give an interview in Ukrainian.
Despite Zelensky’s reluctance to speak Russian, during the interview, he repeatedly switched back and forth to better express his thoughts or use obscenities. The “most dynamic and powerful conversation between us” was in Russian, Fridman admitted.
The majority of Ukrainian citizens can speak or at least understand Russian, particularly in the east of the country. However, since the 2014 US-backed coup in Kiev, the new authorities have abolished Russian as an official regional language and adopted policies aimed at its suppression. In 2019, the Ukrainian parliament passed a law requiring Ukrainian to be used exclusively in nearly all aspects of public life, including education, entertainment, politics, business, and the service industry.
Moscow has repeatedly denounced Kiev’s crackdown on Russian culture and language as discrimination, insisting that “forced Ukrainization” violates international law and infringes upon the rights of native Russian speakers, who make up around a quarter of the population.
Kiev has sharply intensified its de-Russification efforts since the escalation of the conflict with Moscow in February 2022. Ukrainian lawmakers have since imposed blanket bans on Russian-language works of art, concerts and performances, as well as movies, books, and songs. The study of Russian in schools and universities has also been outlawed.
