Putin promised not to kill Zelensky, says former Israeli prime minister

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says he got Russian President Vladamir Putin to promise he wouldn't kill Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky during negotiations in the war's first weeks, The Associated Press reports.
Bennett served as an unlikely intermediary between the two nations and was one of the few leaders from the West to visit Moscow during the war. While those mediations ultimately failed to bring the conflict to a swift end, Bennett's account gives insight into the efforts to quell the invasion.
In a five-hour interview on his YouTube account, he outlined the secret behind-the-scenes negotiations that included Putin's promise. Bennett says he asked Putin if he planned to kill his Ukrainian counterpart.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I asked, 'what's with this? Are you planning to kill Zelensky?' He said, 'I won't kill Zelensky.' I then said to him, 'I have to understand that you're giving me your word that you won't kill Zelensky.' He said, 'I'm not going to kill Zelensky,'" Bennett said, per AP.
He then called Zelensky to inform him of Putin's vow. "'Listen, I came out of a meeting; he's not going to kill you.' He asks, 'are you sure?' I said,'100% he won't kill you,'" Bennett assured him. Bennett also said he got Putin to drop his pledge to demand Ukraine's disarmament, and Zelensky vowed that Ukraine would not join NATO during the mediation.
In response to Bennett's interview, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed his disbelief that Putin could be taken at his word on Sunday on Twitter.
"Do not be fooled: He is an expert liar. Every time he has promised not to do something, it has been exactly part of his plan," Kuleba said about the Russian president, per AP.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.
-
Bergerac: 'darker' reboot of the eighties crime drama
The Week Recommends Irish actor Damien Molony takes over from John Nettles as the Jersey detective
By The Week UK Published
-
Pamela Anderson is 'transfixing' in The Last Showgirl
The Week Recommends 'Quietly touching' film about a Las Vegas showgirl facing the end of her career
By The Week UK Published
-
Is it time to ban smacking in England?
Today's Big Question Experts are calling for 'Victorian-era punishment' to be scrapped, but the government isn't ready to act
By Abby Wilson Published
-
Ukraine: where do Trump's loyalties really lie?
Today's Big Question 'Extraordinary pivot' by US president – driven by personal, ideological and strategic factors – has 'upended decades of hawkish foreign policy toward Russia'
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
Is Gaza ceasefire deal about to fizzle out?
Today's Big Question Israel and Hamas accuse each other of deliberately breaking first phase of the fragile truce, which is set to expire on Saturday
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What will Trump-Putin Ukraine peace deal look like?
Today's Big Question US president 'blindsides' European and UK leaders, indicating Ukraine must concede seized territory and forget about Nato membership
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Ukraine's disappearing army
Under the Radar Every day unwilling conscripts and disillusioned veterans are fleeing the front
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Cuba's mercenaries fighting against Ukraine
The Explainer Young men lured by high salaries and Russian citizenship to enlist for a year are now trapped on front lines of war indefinitely
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Donald Trump behind potential Gaza ceasefire and will it work?
Today's Big Question Israel and Hamas are 'on the brink' of a peace deal and a hostage exchange, for which the incoming president may take credit
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Ukraine-Russia: are both sides readying for nuclear war?
Today's Big Question Putin changes doctrine to lower threshold for atomic weapons after Ukraine strikes with Western missiles
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Russia and Iran 'up the ante' after meeting in Turkmenistan
The Explainer Two nations talk up their closer ties but some in Tehran believe Putin 'still owes' them
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published