Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a fiery response to Tucker Carlson, slamming the former Fox News host for calling him a “dictator” and accusing him of crushing democracy. In an interview with Piers Morgan on Tuesday, Zelensky said Carlson should “stop licking” Vladimir Putin’s “a**” and “stop working” for the Russian president.
Zelensky’s comments came after Carlson appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored last week, where he made several accusations against the Ukrainian leader. Carlson claimed that Zelensky wasn’t elected, had banned religious groups, killed his political opponents, and banned certain languages—all traits, according to Carlson, of a dictator. Carlson also accused the U.S. and U.K. governments of supporting Zelensky.
Carlson, who has been known for his pro-Putin views, has faced criticism from both sides of the political spectrum for his Russia-friendly rhetoric. His praise for Putin even got attention in Russia, where some state media personalities worried that Carlson’s stance was too close to theirs.
Zelensky didn’t hold back in his response. He told Morgan that Carlson was simply parroting Putin’s narrative about Ukraine, which includes claims that Zelensky isn’t legitimate and is running a dictatorship.
“Putin has been in power for 30 years,” Zelensky said. “He’s a bloody dictator and murderer who violated Ukraine’s territorial integrity. And this blogger, or journalist, or whatever he calls himself, is repeating everything Putin says. He works for Putin.”
Zelensky also addressed Carlson’s claims one by one. Carlson had accused him of murdering political opponents, but Zelensky set the record straight. He explained that the only close example was Viktor Medvedchuk, a former Ukrainian politician who was arrested and later exchanged for 200 Ukrainian soldiers. Zelensky added that Medvedchuk’s party still has members in the Ukrainian parliament.
Zelensky then challenged Carlson to better understand the situation in Ukraine. “Tucker, you need to understand what’s going on here. Stop working for Putin,” he said.
One of Carlson’s main accusations was that Zelensky was acting like a dictator by pausing elections. Zelensky explained that elections couldn’t take place while Ukraine is in the middle of a war, especially with millions of people displaced or living in occupied territories. He promised that elections would happen once the war and martial law ended.
“How can people vote in occupied territories? How can millions of Ukrainians vote who are abroad?” he asked. “When the war ends, we will hold elections. But we can’t do that now because if we stop martial law, that’s exactly what Putin wants. It would mean our army goes home, and who will protect us?”
Zelensky’s comments made it clear: his government is fighting for Ukraine’s democracy, and stopping martial law now would be a victory for Russia.
Watch the clip below:
