In his speeches and public statements for international consumption, has Zelensky ever addressed the people of Russia (as opposed to the regime or the soldiers) directly? (It would indicate whether he and his government see the Russian people as any kind of potential factor in the postwar order.) If so, what has he said?
(The mayor of Odesa just yesterday, after Russian bombardment, told the Russian people “Odesa hates you,” but this was a municipal, not a national, statement.)
I’m not sure how any such message would reach the Russian people - the media is State-controlled.
I’ve seen tweets, early in the war in which he has done so and here’s one cite for a recent message, but as noted, it’s not clear the messages are received:
Yes. How would he do that? Do you really think Putin would allow it? Apparently you can be arrested in Russia for calling it a war…
I don’t understand the confusion around the original post.
Zelensky can address the people of Russia directly. In fact, as @not_what_you_d_expect has helpfully cited above, he has done so in the past.
Russia is not sealed off to the outside world like North Korea. The internet is widely used in Russia. Yes, Russian authorities have recently attempted to block foreign websites. But such obstacles can be, and routinely are, circumvented with a VPN. Thus, on occasions when Zelensky addresses the people of Russia, at least some of the population will be able to find out about it.
I’m pretty certain this isn’t the answer you were expecting, but he headlined the New Years Eve show on Russia 1 TV in 2013 together with Maxim Galkin. Apparently, the show is a pretty big deal in Russia, and has been since it was started in the Soviet Union in 1962.
The video of the entire thing with auto caption is on YouTube:
And also, Roman/NFKRZ reacting to the 2023 New Years show and how Z it was, which is how I found out about all of this.