Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sparred with a Russian state media journalist outside the United Nations headquarters in New York on Wednesday, telling the reporter he would come to Moscow “on a missile, blyat” after being repeatedly pressed on the subject.
The exchange took place as Zelensky walked with a group of journalists past the bronze handgun statue outside U.N. headquarters, fielding shouted questions during the U.N. General Assembly. A man in the group addressed the Ukrainian leader in Russian, using the Russian patronymic form of his name, repeatedly asking: “Vladimir Alexandrovich, when are we going to Moscow?”
Zelensky, appearing annoyed at the persistent questioning, eventually turned and answered in Russian, saying he would go to Moscow but only “on a missile, blyat” — a common Russian expletive that can be translated variously as an obscenity or, more mildly, as “damnit.”
Germany’s Die Welt reported that the remark drew a sharp reaction in Russia and “caused a stir.”
Ukrainian media identified the journalist as Valentin Bogdanov, a reporter for Russian state media. Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, part of the National Security and Defense Council, has described Bogdanov as one of the Kremlin’s “information saboteurs in the West” and a “Russian propagandist.”
This is not the first time Zelensky has deflected questions about a possible trip to Moscow with a pointed joke. At the NATO summit in Ankara in July, when President Donald Trump raised the idea of Zelensky traveling to Moscow for peace talks, Zelensky responded, “It’s difficult, there are a lot of Ukrainian drones there,” drawing laughter from those in the room.
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