'We are defending the right to live': Ukraine's president speaks with Scott Pelley about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and recently uncovered alleged war crimes in Kyiv suburb of Bucha.
On February 24, with the Russian invasion coming at him from three sides, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reached for his most powerful weapon – his phone. The moment Zelenskyy told his people he refused to flee, Ukraine refused to fall. Leaders don't become legends often, but over these nearly seven weeks, this 44-year-old former comedian inspired his country to stand up to the overwhelming force of Russia.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, translation: When everyone is telling you, you need to go, you need to think. Before I do something, I analyze the situation. I've always done it calmly, without any chaos. I might not be the strongest warrior. But I'm not willing to betray anyone.Volodymyr Zelenskyy, translation: I told them this is my choice. And I can't do it any other way. I'm the president of my country. I'm the president of our people.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, translation: When you are [working] at diplomacy, there are no results. All this is very bureaucratic. That's why the way I'm talking to them is absolutely justifiable. I don't have any more lives [to give]. I don't have any more emotions. I'm no longer interested in their diplomacy that leads to the destruction of my country. A lot of countries have changed their mind about Ukraine and about our people. But I think we've paid too high price for that.
In Bucha, neighborhood relief for the hungry and the homeless looked like World War II in color. Valeriy Matvienko was so angry about the senseless Russian bullet wound in his leg, we can't repeat what he told us in English. The slaughter of civilians could have been stopped, Zelenskyy told us. He's deeply grateful for the weapons NATO and the U.S. are sending around the clock. But he's bitterly disappointed the allies refuse to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. President Biden has called that an invitation to World War III. But in Zelenskyy's view, it's the kind of inaction the world has suffered before.
In 2019, Zelenskyy turned parody into power. He ran on an anti-corruption platform and won 73% of the vote. He was 41 years old. He brought longtime friend and business partner, Andriy Yermak, in as chief of staff. In our interview, Zelenskyy told us he's been trying to warn the world that Putin will not stop at Ukraine.
Friday, a Russian missile strike hit a crowd of refugees striving to escape eastern Ukraine by train. At least 50 were killed, five children. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls it a war crime. Tonight, Zelenskyy is fighting a powerful Russian assault on Ukraine's East and South. Russia has not seized its strategic objectives so, instead, it's shelling defiant cities to ruin. The one exception, at least now, is Kyiv.
We saw the Ukrainian punch in the town of Bucha where the remains of a Russian armored column rusted, dead in the street. Neighbors, holed up for weeks, emerged to remember what victory looks like. No one seemed in a hurry to deal with the bits of Russian soldiers in the wreckage. The full story of how the outmanned Ukrainian army stopped the invasion of Kyiv, will fill history books but we already know part of it.
Scott Pelley: When you ask the Biden administration for artillery, tanks, jet airplanes, the administration says what?
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