Aidan Stretch spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after deadly Russian strikes on Kyiv. "Ukrainians will win this ...
What Volodymyr Zelenskyy said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
In a live interview in Kyiv after Russian strikes, President Zelenskyy said Ukraine is grateful for Patriot missile transfers from the US and Europe but called the pace 'too slow,' urging faster delivery to save Ukrainian lives. He confirmed recent conversations with Jared Kushner and said US envoys, including Steve Witkoff, promised to visit Ukraine but have not yet, and he hopes they will come to understand the situation and pressure Russia. Zelenskyy asserted that Russia is losing the war and that Ukrainians will win, though he stressed that ending the war soon is the priority. He asked for more pressure on Putin, noting that Putin will eventually lose everything. He also acknowledged that US and European election cycles complicate support but insisted that saving lives must be the priority.
Key takeaways
Zelenskyy said Patriot missile deliveries are 'too slow' and urged faster US and European support to save Ukrainian lives.
Zelenskyy confirmed he spoke with Jared Kushner yesterday and expects US envoys to visit Ukraine soon.
Zelenskyy said Russia is losing the war and Ukrainians will win, but ending the war soon is the priority.
Zelenskyy asked for more pressure on Putin, saying Putin will lose everything eventually.
Zelenskyy acknowledged election cycles in the US and Europe complicate support but said saving lives is the priority.
0:39Have you received a response from the United States for those asks?
3:06When was the last time that you heard from Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, or another member of the president's team, and do you expect them to re-engage with negotiations soon?
4:22President, would you say that Ukraine is winning this war?
We're taking you back to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv where CBS News international reporter Aiden Stretch is speaking to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Moscow launched significant strikes on the capital. Let's listen in.
So right now they're telling us that Mr. President's telling us that Putin's in a weak position and that he needs to be stronger. Mr. President, Aiden Stretch is CBS News. We've heard you ask repeatedly for more ballistic defenses from the United States. You said yesterday that nearly half of the missiles used were ballistic missiles. Have you received a response from the United States for those asks?
No, we are thankful for the program. Thankful to the European team. They paid for this and they paid already and now we have some packages of Patriot. Yes. And with Europe and Canada and other partners and we are thankful to the American team for transfer of these missiles. But for today it's too slow, to be honest, too slow. Of course, I count on the meeting with the American team during the closest days. We will see what will be. We don't know what Putin will do and how the plans of our meetings will be. But what is most important is we are asking President Trump and his team. Russia is only one thing and we don't need too many words. You see what it means when the packages come to Ukraine slowly. This is a big problem because these people lost not only their apartments. This is a problem to lose your home, your house. They lost their children, their families, their life. And I think this is the problem, not the problem how to push missiles quicker. They have to work. I'm so sorry. I understand that there are a lot of internal questions in the United States and I know in Europe, in all Europe, all Europe, United States, a lot of different countries live from elections to elections. Very understandable. But please, the priority is to save lives, Ukrainian lives.
When was the last time that you heard from Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, or another member of the president's team, and do you expect them to re-engage with negotiations soon?
Yesterday was conversation between I think and Kushner. Yes. And the day before yesterday and etc. So they said weeks or many months ago that they will come to Ukraine. They have to come to see, to understand, and to explain to the president and then to answer in a very polite manner how Steve Witkoff can ask Russia what they have to do quickly, sit, negotiate, stop this war. That's why we wanted them to come to us for quite a long period of time. I hope that they will. Yes. And I understand that there are challenges in the Middle East. As I said, we are thankful for their position that they want to help. But we need more than words.
Zelenskyy, V. (2026, July 2). Zelenskyy reacts after massive Russian attack in Kyiv [Interview transcript]. Face the Nation. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1063030/
MLA
Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "Zelenskyy reacts after massive Russian attack in Kyiv." Face the Nation, 2 Jul. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1063030/.
BibTeX
@misc{zelenskyy2026_1063030,
author = {Volodymyr Zelenskyy},
title = {Zelenskyy reacts after massive Russian attack in Kyiv},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, Face the Nation. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {jul},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1063030/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
