Zelenskyy Compares Putin to Hitler, Says Negotiating With “The Killer” Is Already a Major Compromise

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asserted that merely agreeing to negotiate with “the killer” [Putin] is already a significant compromise.

He made this remark in an interview with The Economist published on February 12, responding to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s suggestion that both Russia and Ukraine should.

“Imagine that Hitler wasn’t destroyed… Imagine that after everything he did to the Jews… people said, okay, let’s look for a compromise,” Zelenskyy said.

He added that [Putin] “acted like Hitler” and warned that the wrong approach to diplomacy could end up rehabilitating him.

While Ukraine is open to negotiations, Zelenskyy emphasized that they must come with security guarantees strong enough to prevent future Russian aggression. A history of broken agreements has proven that talks and ceasefires alone are ineffective. “Without a security guarantee, it’s zero… [Putin] doesn’t want any peace.”

In an interview with The Guardian published on February 12, Zelenskyy stated that if Ukraine is not admitted into NATO, an alternative would be the presence of Alliance forces on Ukrainian territory. He emphasized that Ukraine’s military should match Russia’s in size and capability.