According to him, in the early days of the Russian invasion, "someone" delivered an ultimatum from the illegitimate president of Russia, Vladimir Putin.
"It was the same list with some changes as in Turkey. Let me tell you how it went. They said that I had to step down, and they would replace me with the pro-Russian Medvedchuk. So, I would no longer be president. That's the first point. For me, it's not a problem; our people will vote," the head of state explained.
The president added that the Russians put forward demands: recognition of all of Donbas as part of Russia, official status for the Russian language, enshrining a neutral status in the Constitution of Ukraine, reducing the Ukrainian army to 50,000 personnel, as well as the destruction or transfer to Russia of all weapons with a range of over 20 km.
"Therefore, there were never any negotiations; this is an ultimatum from a murderer. His last name is Putin. And he issued it. I sent those people away from my office because they are simply separatists. After that, many weeks later, we defended the capital, we pushed the Russians back. And all this time, they had meetings with some of our people," Zelensky noted.