Zelensky on the war: “This is terrible pain that I would not wish on anyone”

Vladimir Zelensky gave an interview to British businessman and TV presenter Steven Bartlett for his YouTube channel The Diary Of A CEO, in which he admitted that he cannot sleep because of the war, and during the conversation tears appeared in his eyes.

One of Bartlett’s first questions was: “How are you holding up?” The Ukrainian president answered plainly.

“Well, it’s hard. I’ll be honest. I don’t sleep. This is terrible pain that I would not wish on anyone,” Zelensky said.

The host noted that he could see tears in his guest’s eyes. Zelensky confirmed it with a brief “yes.”

When asked how he is living, the president of Ukraine gave a detailed answer.

“It’s hard. It’s hard because I am surviving with my country, with my people. And the question arises whether tomorrow will come. And the answer is: yes, it will. It cannot be otherwise, because I am my homeland, my family, my relatives. I am an inseparable part of all of this. So how do I feel? It’s hard, but I understand this difficult reality and I remain an optimist, because I still believe that good will prevail. I believe in that,” Zelensky said.

In the interview, Zelensky also spoke about the first days of the war, which he spent in a bunker. According to him, Joe Biden called him and offered assistance with evacuation. Zelensky replied that he needed equipment.

The president described his visit to Bucha after its liberation as the hardest day of the war.

“There were dead bodies everywhere. Children, adults, elderly people. Hands bound, after torture,” he described his impressions.

Previously, Zelensky had told journalists that in the first days of the full-scale war there were assassination attempts organized against him, in which people inside the Office of the President were killed. The online outlet Independent reported that Zelensky had survived more than 12 assassination attempts since the start of the war.