Zelenskyy says Ukrainians are ‘defending the right to live’

• Zelenskyy said in an interview with CBS that Ukrainians are “defending the right to live.”
• He added that Ukrainians are “defending the ability of a person to live in the modern world.”
• “I never thought this right was so costly. These are human values,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CBS civilians in his country defending themselves against the Russian invasion “are defending the right to live.”

“We are defending the ability of a person to live in the modern world. They say we’re defending Western values. I always say, what are Western values? Someone who lives in the United States or Europe, do they also not like children? Do they not want their children to go to university, do they not want their grandfather to live for 100 years? We have the same values,” Zelenskyy said during an interview with 60 Minutes airing Sunday. 

He added: “We are defending the right to live. I never thought this right was so costly. These are human values.  So that Russia doesn’t choose what we should do and how I’m using my rights. That right was given to me by God and my parents.”

Zelenskyy also spoke to CBS about the increasing need for military aid as Ukraine prepares for a “new wave” of Russian attacks. In a recent interview with the German newspaper BILD, owned by Insider’s parent company Axel Springer, Zelenskyy predicted intense fighting in the coming days.

“It could be a big war in Donbas — like the world has not seen in hundreds of years,” Zelenskyy told BILD.

The full 60 Minutes interview with Zelenskyy airs on April 10.