In late October, popular broadcaster David Letterman traveled to Kyiv to interview Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Now the result is on Netflix.
On the 45-minute episode of “My Next Guest,” Letterman asks everything from the president’s past as a comedian to direct questions about Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin.
What if Putin dies?
– I want to talk about Putin. Do people in Russia believe him?
– Yes. They do, unfortunately. A large percentage of people believe him. They close doors, windows and eyes to war. It’s cowardice, that’s how it is, replies Zelensky.
Letterman then hypothetically springs into action:
– Let’s say Putin caught a bad cold and died, or he accidentally fell out the window and died. Would this then continue?
Zelensky shakes his head:
– No. Then there would have been no war. Autocracy is dangerous because it represents a great risk. You can’t let one person have complete control over everything. When such a person disappears, institutions stop. This is what happened in the Soviet Union. Everything collapsed. That’s why I think they’ll have problems when he dies. So they have to deal with their domestic policy, rather than foreign policy, says the Ukrainian president.
When will the war end?
Zelensky is asked how long the war will last and what a Ukrainian victory will look like:
– No one can say how long it will take, replies Zelensky, and continues:
– I’m a responsible person and I know how important it is for people to know when the war will end, because that’s the big question. So there should be an answer too. I don’t take this lightly. For us, the end of war – no matter what anyone says and no matter whether people believe it or not – war ends when we regain lands and borders. The question of when the war will end… is not about “freezing” the conflict. If drones disappear tomorrow, people will still die on the front lines. It’s not a solution, says Zelenskyj.
– It’s our citizens who are fighting. War is not far away. War is everywhere, it is now in everyone’s home. That’s why the war is over when the whole country is liberated, says Zelensky.
– I feel safe when I wake up
He also shares a little bit about his daily life in the interview:
– I feel safe when I wake up. I can’t tell you where he is, he’s not safe for me. But when I wake up, I wake up happy, says the Ukrainian president.
– I wake up around 05:30-06:00. If there is an emergency I am woken up by a phone call. Then I meet the general staff and take a shower. I’m a completely normal person, Zelensky says.
– The best times are when I can talk on the phone with my wife or children, he says.
video/embed.jsp?id=6166dedb-3e11-4eab-837a-3711589f94e0&pi=3689c16b-4cb9-4a36-baf4-2c3aa7fcc811"/>
video/embed.jsp?id=6166dedb-3e11-4eab-837a-3711589f94e0&pi=3689c16b-4cb9-4a36-baf4-2c3aa7fcc811"/>
video>
