Following his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukraine’s acting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sat down with Fox News host Bret Baier, on Dec. 29, for a 45-minute interview. Egged on by Baier, who oozed sympathy, Zelenskyy offered an exercise in sophistry and sleaze to convince listeners how much he wanted peace—as long as it is done his way, and certainly not Vladimir Putin’s. Countering reality, he insisted that 87% of Ukrainians want peace, but quickly added that 85% don’t want to give up territory in the East. So there must be a “just peace.”
From the beginning, Zelenskyy accused Putin of sabotaging peace talks, and said reports of a Ukrainian drone attack on Putin’s residence were lies. Of course, Putin doesn’t want peace, he asserted. “I don’t see it, because I don’t hear it publicly. He doesn’t speak about peace. He doesn’t give signals of peace. He says he can go further [with the special military operation]. That’s why we need dialogue with President Trump. Trump has tools he can use—sanctions and dialogue.” “All parties” must be involved in the dialogue, he said, obviously meaning his European enablers or Coalition of the Willing partners, all determined to prevent peace.
