Zelensky’s Office Rejects Tucker Carlson Interview, Claims ‘FSB Sources’ Misled Him

The press secretary for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied definitively that Zelensky would ever sit down with former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson. Carlson created a stir on Wednesday when he said on “X,” that he’d landed an interview with Zelensky.

We’ve finally got the Zelenskyy Interview. Since February, we’ve been working on this for the past two years. It’s important to provide Americans with much-needed details about the conflict which is reshaping the country’s global position. We hope to have it soon.

Serhii Nkyforov is Zelensky’s press secretary. He responded to the X Facebook post:

Tucker Carlson needs to check more closely his sources within the FSB. Tucker Carlson’s schedule is completely different from that of the President of Ukraine.

The interview appeared unlikely for several reasons. Carlson’s criticism of the US’s support of Ukraine’s independence is not limited to that. He is also a vocal critic of Ukraine’s actions taken in defense of itself. His criticism is not restrained by factual evidence. His criticism of the Ukraine War makes the Facebook comments by Obama Birth Truthers seem like Pulitzer Prize quality work. This video is an excellent example.

In the letter, he refers to Zelensky as a dictator because he suspended elections while ignoring the fact that the Ukrainian Constitution prohibits national elections in a state or emergency.

The state of martial law declared in 2022 at the beginning of the Russian invasion was responsible for the disruption of these regularly scheduled elections. It is to be expected that a country in a state of survival, with significant parts of its territory occupied, would declare martial law. The Ukrainian Constitution establishes martial law as a concept. It was last updated in 2015 by the national parliament, just before Zelensky became a politician.

According to Article 83, if the Verkhovna Rada’s term expires during martial law, the Rada will be automatically extended until the new Rada has been seated after the martial law ends. Article 19 of Ukraine’s Martial Law legislation expressly prohibits holding national elections. If Ukraine were to hold elections under martial law, it would violate legal standards that predate Zelensky’s invasion and the full-scale Russian invasion.

Zelensky is criticized for closing the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Moscow, which was owned and operated by the FSB, and began preaching against Ukraine’s defensive efforts and those who served in the Ukraine Armed Forces.

The Ukrainian Parliament gave its initial approval to a bill that will ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a minority church. Kyiv had accused them of working with Russia after last year’s invasion.

Although the UOC claims to have historical links with Moscow, it says that it no longer aligns itself with the Russian Orthodox church. The UOC denies Kyiv’s accusations and claims that the draft law is unconstitutional.

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine is the largest Christian church in Ukraine. It was formed by two independent churches that broke away from Moscow and united them as one.

It is not a question of religious freedom. In Ukraine, for example, evangelicals can worship freely while being persecuted by Russians and in the Russian-occupied Ukraine. Orthodox Ukrainians are still able to attend Orthodox services without the treasonous priests.

This clip is from December, in which he says that the US sends “tens and tens of billions” to sleazy Ukrainian oligarchs. The US spends billions on “sleazy” oligarchs at General Dynamics, Raytheon, and other major Defense Contractors, not Ukraine.

It was clear that Carlson would be able to redeem himself from the humiliation Vladimir Putin had given him. However, what Zelensky or Ukraine could expect was less clear.

Carlson, despite his many good qualities, is a bad actor in Ukraine. Zelensky’s office has a right to assume this hasn’t changed. Zelensky can expect coverage that ranges from cautiously skeptical to outright fawning. Why would Zelensky talk to someone if they weren’t going to treat him fairly? A significant portion of Carlson’s viewers actively support Russia’s invasion while a larger majority do not believe that Ukraine deserves US support. It’s hard to say who this interview would appeal to, but it has zero upside and 100% downside.

Carlson would make a lot more money from the interview, but it is unlikely that this would lead to increased support for Zelensky and Ukraine or an even better understanding of these issues. Carlson either made up the story to attract attention, or he got bad information. I don’t even know if the people were from the FSB. Carlson might want to do some research and find out.