You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg radio. But Ukrainian President Zelinsky renewing his pledge to retake all of the Russian controlled territory after Ukraine's recent advances. Russia's pop star Allah also joining her husband in protesting the wartelling social media followers that young Russian men were dying for illusory,
excuse me, purposes. So there's been a lot of support, obviously, and it looks like they have made some progress in terms of pushback. Yeah, we're really pleased to have with us this afternoon Julia Mendel, former press secretary to Ukrainian president of Vladimir, Voladimir Zalinski. She's also the author of the book the fight of our lives. My time was Zolensky, Ukraine's battle for democracy and what it means for the world. Julia joins US this afternoon via zoom from New York City. Julia,
good to have you with us. How are you, Carol Teams? Thank you for having me. Yeah, thank you so much for joining us. So, uh, talk a little bit about when you were with President Zelinski because I think obviously a lot of people learned to get to know him, you know, since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but you were
with him in the earlier part of his term. Well, in my book the fight of our lives, I'm explaining how a person called him of Zelenski turned from a comedian into a statesman and from the statesman into the leader of the country in war. And in fact, I must tell you that a lot of people really underestimated him for the reason that his image of a comedian
was so strong that it was the most popular. But in fact he is the lawyer by education and he built a very successful business in Ukraine, which is very difficult to do in post Soviet country which is under Russian pressure. I think that his leadership developed during those uh work to build this business. At the same time, I know him as a person who treats everything seriously, a very hard working person. That's why he drinks enormous cups of coffee, and also he is absolutely addicted to sports.
What I noticed and he was going to the gym or for a jogging around the world and the TRIOPS, you know, starting his day before his uh political meetings from sports, and also he was even going jogging when we were traveling to Don busn, and this is the military zone, that uh, where Russia started its military actions back in twenty fourteen. So it sounds like Uliah that you're not surprised by the job he has done in facing Russia as a result of their, you know, war
and their invasion of Ukraine. It sounds like um in many ways. None of this surprises you. I mean, because I do think initially you're right, people thought of him as a comedian and what kind of world leader was he going to was he going to be, certainly in the face of war? Um, I think you told us a lot of things that kind of surprised us. What else might really surprise us about this individual? Well, this is a very interesting question, because President Zelinski came to
power promising to bring peace. You know, Russia first embaded Ukraine back in twenty fourteen by annex in Ukrainian Peninsula CRIMIA and by studying military actions in eastern region of
Don Bas. So Zelinski was traveling a lot to don bass and I was traveling with him in the majority of his trips, and I'm telling a lot of stories from the strips, in my book, the fight of our lives, and it was very important to observe him during those trips because he never was actually afraid to go to the front lines just to handshake with the soldiers, and there were situations when Russians and pro Russian separatists were trying to shout Ukrainian frontline uh positions and Zelinsky was
going uh there or returning back there, fighting his personal security. That did not allow the president to put his personal life under the threat. Zelenski was saying. As a leader, I need to be with my people and I need to show that I'm not afraid if they're they're fighting for, you know, for Ukraine, for Ukraine's territory, for Ukraine's independence. I just cannot run away, because he always repeats that politics must serve people. That's why I was not surprised
that he stayed in Ukraine. I was actually surprised that he was offered to live the country and this famous phrase, phrase I need ammunition not to write. It's actually a big performance of Ukrainian nature, but it's also a big
performance of his own leadership. I think Ukrainians, and I don't think I saw that Ukrainians surprised in his president and he made really one of the hugest contributions for Ukraine staying independent country by uniting Ukrainians and by uniting the whole civilized world to help Ukraine battle Russian invasion. I want to get right back to who we're talking with. Earlier, Juliam and a former press secretary to Ukraine President Zelinsky, also the author of the new book the fight of
our lives. My time with Zelinsky Ukraine's battle for democracy and what it means for the world. Julia, good to have you with us, joining us, I should say, from New York City, so not too far from where we are right now. Before the break, we spoke a lot about your time with Zelinsky. What I want to hear about is your time over the last nine months and what it's been like living in Ukraine as it has been under siege by Russia, with Russia's invasion of the country. Um, what,
what is? What do people need to know about your experience? Oh Wow, Tiam, thank you for this question and definitely I thought war. I prioritized, prioritized the experience of war, of Russian invasion in my book. A lot to show the people why it is important to send with Ukraine
these days. I woke up, as many millions of Ukrainians, to the sound of bombs and missiles that Russia was sending to key and, Um, you know, I started calling immediately to everyone, my family who is now inoccupied territory, to my friends, learning that all the country was actually
under this terrible shelling. And for us, as for Ukrainians, it is even now literally very difficult to believe in the fact that somebody is some country it can, can come to another independent country and repeat the horrors from the past, which is put in doing right now, because he's repeating from the horrors from the World War Two,
from the artificial family period, from the genocidal practices. And on one hand, the recent events that were happening in my country, their successful counter offensives by Ukrainian army, they really bring a lot of Um celebration to Ukrainians because we we were waiting for this and we believe in Ukrainian army. On the other hand, my heart is bleeding for the reason of the news that we see there, all those mass graves, all those torture cells, all those
dead kids. You know, females like terrorize society, and it's really very hard to imagine what we will reveal when we do occupy all other Ukraine. There is one point too, of million of Ukrainians that are right now situated under Russian occupations, and that's why we actually ask the world to stand with us as much as it's needed, because if we speak that there is a big support of Ukraine, then we need to say that it's never enough until
we stopped Russia. This is the battle between democracy and autocracy, and democracy must be stronger, because we are dirtymined to return our land and our people, but also we are dirtymined to stand for democratic values, for the values that Ukrainians are sharing with the Western world. In terms of President Putin's intentions, what's the conversations they're on the ground in Ukraine um when it comes to what an ultimate goal, is an ultimate testainy destiny is? Is this it or
is he looking to do even more? If you recall, the first goal of UH Putin was actually to Um capture all Ukraine, to conquer the country, to kill the leader of the country and to establish his puppet Um, and we see that he did not manage to achieve this goal, because there was underestimation of the president and underestimation of the Ukrainian people and our determination to to to be in this country and to defend this country, Ukraine.
On the other hand, we are all, we were all today expecting his speech and we had the sources that we're saying that he was going to announce fast referenda. We see that established Russian Putin's uh so called authorities and occupied Ukraine. Now went out to say that we will conduct referenda U and everybody understands that this is going to be fake referender, as they already did back
in twenty fourteen with the Ukrainian peninsula premia. So the whole world went out saying that we are not going to recognize this referender. There was the United States, the European Union countries and even Turkey, who said their frienda are fake, and that's why, you know, Putin did not deliver his speech. So we are waiting for the next steps.
What is more important, the Russian army is being defend defeated on the ground, and that's why they're show shooting missiles to civilian infrastructure, heating, schools, kindergardens, medical facilities, but also electricity and heating stations, and they threatened with nuclear disaster. This is the most important thing. We are afraid that Putin can use the latest measure, which is nuclear weapons. Well, help us understand you, you've been on the ground there,
and how how this ends. I mean, I know it's fair to say that a lot of the world really underestimated the country, the country's army and the president of Ukraine,
but but how do you see it ending? Well, that's an interesting question and definitely this is not the question towards me, but the issue is that this is, Um, the right a lot of steps that have been done to uh, actually help Ukrain win, uh, this fight for for our, you know, land and for our values, and what I see the apprainian leadership is going to do is to regain as much as possible of Ukrainian territories
that Russia captured back after February twenty four. And then the winter will come and the winter is going to be very difficult for all the world, but for Ukrainians it's going to be more difficult, worse than for others, because Russia doesn't stop killing. But we believe that then we will need to make decisions how to move forward. The latest president the lands case announcement was that he doesn't exclude that probably Ukraine will need uh to return
premier with the diplomatic means. So he probably probably believes that we will need to use military actions where it's possible, but if Russia agrees to leave the Ukrainian territory, then we will negotiate the fate of premium. Um, Yuliah, what are you hearing? We've just got about forty seconds here.
I mean what's interesting and you know, unfortunately, because of this war, we all looked at Ukraine and what it was doing in terms of, you know, the technology world and information technology, and I think it's things we did not know. Um, now what we see is the devastation. Just got about thirty seconds left here. Um, the rebuild. That will take years, yes, and were Ukrainians are already
rebuilding the territories, the homes, the infrastructure, different facilities. We are, like, very devoted people to this and we hope that we will start rebuilding in a more substantial way already when we can take Russian army to the closer to the borders. Right, of course, you know, we, we, we are looking forward to this. Well, we look forward to UH and and fingers cross that certainly this comes to a better outcome ultimately and comes to a resolution sooner rather than later.
Um Juliah. Thank you so much. Julia Mandel, former press secretary to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Her book the fight of our lives, my time with Zelensky, Ukraine's battle for democracy what it means for the world, came out in one with the English version coming out this year.