Moscow will always view US as its principal enemy, Zelenskyy warns / The New Voice of Ukraine

For decades, Russia has viewed the United States as its primary adversary, and no amount of appeasement would change this core tenet of Moscow’s foreign policy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with right-wing U.S. commentator Ben Shapiro.

“I’ve always been surprised that the United States sought a diplomatic approach with the Russians,” Zelenskyy said in the second part of the interview, published on April 25.

“I’m grateful for their attempt to stop the war, but let me be clear—a key part of our struggle is rooted in knowing that the Russians will always seek to destroy the United States as a world leader and to ruin its economy. We were born in the Soviet Union, we were taught all this in school.”

The Ukrainian president argued that Kremlin policy today continues the ideology of the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire.

“This is Soviet policy—a policy that [Russian dictator Vladimir] Putin is now reviving,” Zelenskyy added.

“He is resurrecting the policy of the Russian Empire. You, the United States, are their main enemy. And now we see a coalition emerge, with Iran fully aligned with them. Iran, like North Korea, wants the destruction of the United States.”

He reiterated that Ukrainians are fighting not only for their own rights and freedoms but also for broader Western values.

“Our people are demonstrating that we fight for your rights as well as our own, and for your values just as much as our own,” the president said.

“We’re fighting your enemies—not your friends—and we want that understanding and recognition that we are partners.”

Earlier, Reuters published a document that outlines the U.S. proposal to end the Russo–Ukrainian war. It includes U.S. recognition of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and Ukraine renouncing its NATO aspirations. The draft was presented to Ukraine and its European allies by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff on April 17.