Zelenskyy makes case for Ukraine to join NATO in Fox News exclusive
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sits down with 'Special Report' anchor Bret Bair to discuss Russia's invasion and the global response.
Special Report’s Bret Baier sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview airing Friday evening and asked him about the current status of the war with Russia and the negotiations underway to potentially end it.
In the interview, set to air on Fox News Channel at 6 p.m ET, Zelenskyy explains to Bret Baier that he believes Ukraine would make a positive addition to NATO.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
"It’s hard for us to talk about NATO because NATO doesn't want to admit us," Zelenskyy said through a translator when asked about potential security guarantees from other nations. "I think it's a mistake because if we join NATO, we make NATO much stronger. We are not a weak state. We are not proposing to make us stronger at the expense of NATO…We are an addition, we are the locomotive. I think we are one of the important components of the European continent.
Opposition to Ukraine joining NATO was one of Putin’s primary justifications for invading the neighboring country, and the United States has so far declined to publicly support Ukraine’s admission into the organization.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to female flight attendants in comments broadcast on state television on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Reuters Video)
In a preview of the interview, Baier told Fox News that Zelenskyy is looking for a security agreement from a "host of nations including the U.S" as a part of any deal that is struck to end the conflict.
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Baier added that Zelenskyy does not appear willing to give up any territory via negotiations with Russia on a possible end to the war.
"He’s very resilient," Baier said. "He believes the Ukrainian military is performing exceptionally well. He is not ready and does not say that he will ever give up Ukrainian territory, which is what he said, although when pressed about that he said there a lot of things in diplomacy that can happen in places like Crimea and Donbas."
Negotiations between Ukraine and Russia through intermediaries have reportedly included demands from Russia that Ukraine recognize Crimea as part of Russia and the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent.
Several buildings in Starobilsk within the Luhansk Oblast region of Ukraine show significant damage because of shelling, according to images shared by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine)
Baier said that Zelenskyy believes Ukraine is "winning" the war and that Russia is "losing" but that he fears Russia is planning to wear Ukraine down in a long-term conflict.
"The fear is that Russia will try to dig in and have fortified positions," Baier said. "That they just stay and that without the heavy weaponry he can’t push them out effectively. That eventually, his biggest worry is that the West will forget about Ukraine and that they’ll turn the chapter and that Russia will take advantage of that."
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Zelenskyy said he has faith in President Biden but pleaded for the United States to give his country missiles and airplanes.
I have faith that President Biden, like any true American citizen, believes and wants the truth to win," he said. "Just give us missiles. Give us airplanes. You cannot give us F-18 or F-19 or whatever you have. Give us the old Soviet planes. That’s all."
But Zelensky said failure to move expeditiously would call into question whether it was true that the United States wants Ukraine to be able to defend itself, or if it is "playing games" instead.
"If we can see that the process of transferring those weapons is getting slower than people begin to ask the question. Is it really true?" he said. "Maybe there is some game behind it. I don’t want to believe that some partners of ours are playing games."
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