Zelenskyy's former business partner Borys Shefir admits that he wants friendship with Russia and loves its culture

Borys Shefir, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's former business partner in his TV production company Studio Kvartal-95, has admitted that he loves Russian culture, compared the European Union with the USSR, and advocated friendship with the Russian Federation. His brother Serhii Shefir, a former adviser to the president, said he "totally disagreed" with Borys's position.

Source: a Radio Liberty interview with Borys Shefir; Serhii Shefir's comment for Radio Liberty

Details: Borys Shefir, 64, said in the interview that he has left Ukraine and does not plan to return until the war is over. Because of this, he has had to stop working with Kvartal-95.

He also commented that he has not been in contact with Zelenskyy for two years, his calls to him remain unanswered, and the president "does things a little differently than I would like".

Shefir said he was unhappy about the Ukrainian attitude towards Russian culture.

Quote from Borys Shefir: "Well, you see, I speak Russian. I love the Russian language, Russian culture... I cannot [bear to] watch the destruction of Pushkin monuments in the country.

To me, this is stupid. If I were with him [Zelenskyy – ed.], I would say: let's stop doing this and let's be friends. But attitudes are completely different over there.

...We name streets after Beethoven, and we had a war with Germany. We’re at war with Putin, not with Russia. The fact that the people there have gone crazy is just one of those things."

Details: Zelenskyy's former business partner also called for "friendship" to be established between Russia and Ukraine and said the European Union had adopted the model of the Soviet Union.

Quote from Borys Shefir: "That would be great. Obviously we need to be friends again. In general, we need to be friends with everyone, and that includes Russia. Putin won’t last forever, he will die, and decent people will come. And with them, you can always...

Well, in theory, we’ve lived together all our lives. Well, at least I have. I lived in the Soviet Union my whole life. And we got along very well... I hope that we will have a great relationship with Russia as soon as they recover from their madness. We should definitely go and say: no, no, we need to be friends."

Details: At the same time, Borys noted that he absolutely hates what is happening in Russia. But he does like Russian culture, writers and composers.

Borys's younger brother, Serhii Shifer, who was dismissed by Zelenskyy from his post as first assistant to the president on 30 March, said in response that he "totally disagreed" with his brother's position.

Quote from Serhii Shefir: "I totally disagree with the position stated by my brother in an interview with your media outlet. Russia is an aggressor country and a terrorist state that has unleashed a war against our country. Russia and Putin personally must be held accountable for the crimes committed against Ukrainians. Ukraine needs peace. And the formula for this peace has been clearly outlined by Volodymyr Zelenskyy. As a citizen and as a friend, I support the actions he is taking as President of Ukraine for our victory."

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