The Ukrainian president gave a press conference this Saturday inside the metro in downtown kyiv. In an unprecedented form and setting, sometimes interrupted by passing trains, he notably renewed his wish for peace between kyiv and Moscow. A surreal setting. On the 59th day of the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave a press conference this Saturday from inside a metro station in downtown kyiv. Sitting on a chair, escalators behind his back, the head of state responded to the several dozen journalists from all over the world who had gathered to ask him about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which will begin its third month this Sunday. Volodymyr Zelensky gives a press conference from the kyiv metro, Saturday April 23, 2022 © BFMTVA on the eve of Orthodox Easter, sometimes interrupted by the passage of the metro, Zelensky first wanted to wish peace but also victory to the people Ukrainian. The word “victory” will come up again and again. Thus, he notably promised that he would have plenty of time to respond to journalists after his country’s victory over Vladimir Putin’s men, even if he wanted to do so this Saturday. Meeting Putin and “ending the war” In his speech, Volodymyr Zelensky said he did not understand Vladimir Putin’s intentions. “It’s hard to assess his decisions,” he said. And to add when questioned about the policy of his Russian counterpart: “I find it difficult to know why for all these years he has held on to his table as president. It is undoubtedly linked to the reason why his army came to our land, in cobra, crawling and encroaching on our lands. The war has been going on for eight years, and the Russian Federation at various levels has tried to influence Ukraine.”By Elsewhere, the Ukrainian head of state again showed himself in favor of advancing the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. “I think whoever started this war can end it,” Zelensky said, repeating that he was not afraid to meet Vladimir Putin if that would lead to a peace agreement between the two countries. On the other hand, and while the humanitarian corridors in Mariupol are at the heart of a dialogue of the deaf between kyiv and Moscow, Zelensky also warned: “If the resistance fighters in Mariupol are killed or if the referendum in Khers we take place, Ukraine will leave the negotiation process.” An upcoming meeting with the head of the American diplomacyDuring his speech, the former humorist who became president also said he was “ready” to “an exchange of our soldiers who defend Mariupol”, in “any format”, to get out “those people who are in a horrible situation, surrounded”. While he described this Saturday as “one of the hardest days” since the beginning of the Russian siege on Mariupol, at the beginning of March, the Ukrainian president must meet this Sunday the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken. “Tomorrow, American officials will come to us: I will meet the Minister of Defense (Lloyd Austin) and Antony Blinken.” This will be the first official visit by US government officials to Ukraine since February 24. hoped that his American counterpart Joe Biden could also “come to support the Ukrainian people” in kyiv when the security situation allows it. last week, the signals, the messages, the steps, the deadlines, the numbers – I’m talking about the weapons of the United States – everything has improved”, he welcomed the press, saying he was “grateful” towards the American administration, even if he would like “even heavier and more powerful weapons” to face the Russian army. “high-precision missiles” a major weapons depot delivered to Ukrainian forces by the United States and European countries, near Odessa, in southern Ukraine. Mathieu Ait Lachkar with AFP