Zelenskyy recalls invasion’s first hours and Bucha horrors in candid ‘The Diary of a CEO’ podcast

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reflected on the first hours of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the devastation discovered in Bucha during a candid podcast interview.

In a 110-minute “The Diary of a CEO” podcast released today, in which Ukrainian President Zelenskyy described Russia’s failed quick march on Kyiv, where troops arrived in parade uniforms expecting victory in days.

He detailed the atrocities in Bucha including a mass grave containing around 500 tortured victims and children, imploring reporters to provide firsthand accounts of the unvarnished atrocities. Zelenskyy shared details of sleepless nights managing incident responses and family liaison operations, insisting peace demands justice amid the war’s deep scars.

“When we liberated Bucha, I said, bring every journalist here. Don't touch anything, just bring the journalists. The whole world simply has to see this. Imagine finding a mass grave in the U.S. or in Britain, God forbid, with 500 tortured people, adults, kids, dogs, animals shot dead. I mean, they held hunting sprees there from military vehicles. People were running, they were shooting, just hunting, playing games.”

He further shed light on a ceasefire stating that “Nobody can step into the shoes of all these people whose children were tortured. And you can't force people to forgive. How can you force them when their child was tortured? How do you forgive? It's impossible. I desperately want justice. I just really want to. I know so many people had their hearts ripped out, and there won't be a new heart.”

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced he anticipated a favorable result from US envoy Steve Witkoff’s trip to Russia and that he advocates for trilateral negotiations and supports talks between the leaders of Kyiv, Washington and Moscow.

Zelenskyy said it was crucial to have a sustained ceasefire, a significant move toward diplomacy and progress toward a pact with security provisions, endorsing Trump’s demand for a ceasefire.