Zelensky tells The Diary of a CEO a ceasefire on current lines is a 'huge compromise'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a ceasefire and talks with Russia would be “a huge compromise” for Ukraine, in an interview with Steven Bartlett on The Diary of a CEO podcast. The 1 hour 50 minute episode, titled “President Zelenskyy: Peace Is A Huge Compromise, The Horrific Atrocities Of Russian War Crimes!”, was released on 22 October.

Zelensky posted three excerpts from the interview on his official X account between 13:43 and 13:53 GMT on 22 October, each marked “From The Diary of a CEO podcast with Steven Bartlett”.

Ceasefire and Trump

In the third post, Zelensky said: “When President Trump says we need to find a compromise – we live with this. A ceasefire and sitting down at the negotiating table – it is a huge compromise.”

He continued: “Nobody can step into the shoes of all these people whose children were tortured. And you can’t force people to forgive. How can you force them when their child was tortured? How do you forgive? It’s impossible. I desperately want justice.”

“That’s why we say a ceasefire is the only step, because people’s hatred isn’t going anywhere. It takes time and justice,” he said. “I’ve tried many times to tell the President of the United States: understand us. This is a huge compromise just to hold the lines where we are. Trump can bring Putin to the negotiating table very easily. The way President Trump talks about me, he needs to adopt that kind of rhetoric about Putin.”

The invasion and Bucha

In the first post, Zelensky said: “Ukraine is not Russia. That’s Putin’s problem – refusing to recognize a separate nation, refusing to recognize a separate country – that’s what did him in.” He said Russian troops had expected an operation “supposed to take three days” and that “We found parade uniforms in their various military vehicles.”

In the second post, about Bucha, he said: “We found the grave. There were, I believe, around 500 people.” He added: “So how, after this, can you listen to Putin? And how, after this, can you forgive?”

The interview follows Zelensky’s Fox News interview, in which he said he would accept freezing the war along the current front line as a first step.