Zelensky goes after JD Vance again in spiky '60 Minutes' interview

Zelensky vehemently denies Vance's claims.

PUBLISHED APR 14, 2025

Zelensky also said Vladimir Putin's narrative had cut through to the Trump administration and singled out Vance.

Washington D.C.: Speaking during a CBS '60 Minutes' interview with Scott Pelley , Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has invited Donald Trump to visit Ukraine, urging him to see firsthand the devastation caused by Russia’s invasion before negotiating any peace deal. In the interviewa , Zelensky said Trump would "understand what Putin did" by witnessing destroyed cities, hospitals, and the deaths of civilians and children.

Vice President JD Vance had earlier accused Zelensky and the Ukrainian government of staging "propaganda tours", something Zelensky vehemently denies."We will not prepare anything. It will not be theater," he said.

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Zelensky also said Vladimir Putin's narrative had cut through to the Trump administration and singled out Vance. "I don't want to engage in the altered reality that is being presented to me," Zelensky said during the interview.

"First and foremost, we did not launch an attack. It seems to me that the vice president is somehow justifying Putin's actions. I tried to explain, 'You can't look for something in the middle. There is an aggressor and there is a victim. The Russians are the aggressor, and we are the victim'," added Zelensky.

Trump has pushed for a swift end to the war, Zelensky, however, warned that Putin cannot be trusted, citing Russia’s rejection of ceasefires.