Zelenskyy Gives Another Interview... to a Non-Journalist

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proven he is good at multitasking:  driving a Tesla and answering questions is no mean feat! But he is also (unsurprisingly) great at talking to friends and giving interviews to people who are not professional journalists.

Unexpectedly, the interview premiered on the old-school TV channel (rather than on social media); expectedly it was promoted by Kvartal 95 production studio and aired on oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky’s 1+1 channel. Below is the takeaway from the interview with his fellow “Servant of the People” series actor Stanislav Boklan.

“If utility bills do not decrease, we will have to say goodbye to the government.” At the same time, he stressed that this should be measured in proportion of the income rather than by direct lowering of prices.

“The first time I called Putin was after relatives of the captive sailors asked me to. In our second conversation, we agreed to meet in the Normandy format.”  Zelenskyy underlined that he had no personal relations with Putin.

“The Opposition Platform-For Life party receives funding from abroad, and this will be a high-profile story that will end very badly.”  Zelenskyy specified that he has information about the amounts of cash received by the political force from abroad.

According to Zelenskyy, the head of the President's Office, Andriy Bohdan, was wrong to attend a wedding in Saint-Tropez on Ukraine’s Independence Day. Zelenskyy said he called Bohdan afterward and spoke about it. “At the same time, Bohdan did not break any laws.” The head of the Presidential Office previously commented on the situation: “Keep calm, porokhobots (a denigrating term for Poroshenko's supporters). I go wherever I want in my spare time. I can choose to go to a wedding in Saint Tropez, and I can choose to go to the frontline in Pisky.”

“In order to protect the rights of minorities, there should be a bill, in particular in the fields of religion and language.” Commenting on a possible revision of the new law on the Ukrainian language, Zelenskyy said it was a "difficult issue", but a law protecting minority rights should be passed. In any case, any law will "hit" him and the parliament hard.

President’s press secretary Iuliia Mendel also said that this interview does not mean that Zelenskyy's big press conference that was announced back in June will not go ahead.