Russian President Vladimir Putin fuels division within Europe “like an animal,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned.
Speaking to Sky News’s chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay, the Ukrainian president described his Russian counterpart as “a killer” and “a terrorist”.
He said when world leaders are afraid, they communicate with their countries and other leaders and “divide the unity in Europe”.
“Putin understands this and fuels it like an animal,” he said.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to Sky’s Stuart Ramsay
Asked if it was unhelpful when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke directly with Mr Putin last month, Mr Zelenskyy said he did not support it.
“It wasn’t a surprise to me as he said he wants to speak and to understand what Putin is thinking about, but I said I cannot support this as it opens this new page – this Pandora’s box,” he said.
He said there are some world leaders who will only want to speak to Mr Putin so they can be on the front pages of the newspapers.
“Don’t open Pandora’s box, because if you open it, other leaders will talk to him to be on the papers and say they can manage it with Putin,” he warned.
“No. You can’t manage with the killer if you’re weak. You can’t do it. For him, you are nothing. He respects only power, and you have to be very strong.”
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‘We cannot give Putin the chance to give us an ultimatum’
In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Zelenskyy also suggested a ceasefire deal could be struck if Ukrainian territory he controls could be taken “under the NATO umbrella” – allowing him to negotiate the return of the rest later “in a diplomatic way”.
The Ukrainian president said Kyiv must be at the same level of stronger than Moscow in order to enter peace negotiations.
“It’s the minimum,” Mr Zelenskyy said. “Really, we have to be stronger than him, but we have to be very strong, even at the same level with unity of the partners.
“They have to talk with us with a one-voice policy. If we speak with Putin, it’s with a plan – we cannot give him the chance to give us an ultimatum.
“He can’t give us an ultimatum because he’s a killer, and he’s a terrorist, and he’s alone in my mind.”
‘Our people did not give their lives for nothing’
When Mr Zelenskyy was asked if, given Ukraine has suffered so much, he feels like the country is at a point where it has been for nothing, Mr Zelenskyy said: “This is a really sensitive point, but this is wrong.
“Our people did not give their lives for nothing. They gave their lives for the lives of their children and grandchildren and for the lives of all Ukrainians today.
“And these people perform not only their personal but also constitutional duty to defend their country.”
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He said those Ukrainians who have died have “already won” as had they not sacrificed “their time, their life, their comfort” then Mr Putin would have conquered the whole of Ukraine.
‘We’ve lost a lot, but we’ve found more’
Asked how the war has affected him personally, the Ukrainian president said he has felt the conflict in the same way as his people.
“We’ve lost a lot, but we’ve found more, we’ve found ourselves,” he said.
“We found our identity. We know who we are 100% and who Russians are 100%.”