5 takeaways from David Letterman's interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

The first interview David Letterman conducted as part of a special episode of Netflix series "My Next Guest" was with a young woman making the arduous journey from Poland into Kyiv.

She asked the veteran late night host where he is from.

"I'm from Indiana," he said. "Where are you from?"

"I'm from Ukraine," she responded.

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The woman inquired as to Letterman's reason for visiting. He was there to interview President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and wondered if she had anything to say to him.

"I would just like to wish him good luck," she said.

Letterman, 75, has nothing left to prove. The Indianapolis native was a successful TV host for more than 30 years, and his Netflix series has featured interesting conversations with guests including former President Barack Obama and Billie Eilish.

But he remains curious.

"When I first saw this man defending his country against Putin and Russia, I thought to myself I would really like to meet this guy," Letterman says to open the episode, which released Monday.

Letterman explained in a recent interview with the Washington Post why he was drawn to interviewing Zelenskyy in Ukraine.

"The first time I saw (Zelenskyy), he said, 'this may be the last time you, my countrymen, maybe the last time you see me alive.' And then he says, 'I don’t need a ride, I need ammunition.' Right away you’re reminded of what you know about Winston Churchill fending off Hitler."

Letterman flew to Poland, took a five-hour van ride to the Ukrainian border and spent 17 hours in a small sleeper car during an overnight rail ride to Kyiv to pull the interview off. It is compelling both in its summation of world affairs and discussion on the ever-present role of comedy — a background shared by both Letterman and Zelenskyy, who was a well-known comic and actor prior to his 2019 election.

Here are those and other takeaways from the 44-minute special.

A real sense of danger

The special heightens the risk involved in such an undertaking.

In voiceover, Letterman explains the capital city was hit by missile strikes just a week prior to his October arrival. Bombed out tanks and armored cars are shown in Kyiv's central square.

Video of destroyed buildings is shown, as well as interviews with locals who narrowly avoided air strikes.

Uniformed soldiers can be seen in the streets and in the audience assembled for the interview. At no point is the viewer unaware of Ukraine's bloody struggle to repel Russian invasion.

The interview itself is shot in "the safest part of the city" — an active subway platform 300 feet below ground.

Letterman a master interviewer

This location greatly complicated an already difficult interview.

The sound quality wasn't great, as trains buzzed through every few minutes — often during Letterman's questions or Zelenskyy's answers. It was by no means acoustically equivalent to a soundstage.

They used translation equipment, as well, which can be hit-or-miss. Even without language barriers, interviewing politicians is difficult. There are power and access dynamics constantly at play. You need a few easy questions to open the subject up spliced with difficult ones to get to the meat of the matter.

But Letterman produced a good conversation, weaving through the big questions on politics and the war while drawing interesting observations on daily life.

Letterman explained that, since he became a father, his first thoughts upon waking up every morning are on the safety of his son. He asked Zelenskyy how a parent navigates that instinct during wartime.

"Our children know more about the war than any of us," Zelenskyy said, adding that his 9-year-old son can name every weapon currently in use on the battlefield.

"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin stole the childhood from our children," Zelenskyy said.

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It is as much a documentary as a talk show segment

Letterman's interviews with other Ukrainians, including the CEO of its important railway system, are perhaps even more interesting than the conversation with their president.

Zelenskyy also discussed his wife's visit to the United States, calling the country "the main supporter" of Ukraine's war effort. He said aid has been used to construct bomb shelters in schools.

The Ukrainian president also explained what the end of the war means for him.

"(The war) ends when we reclaim our land and our borders."

Standup is key

Letterman had an interesting discussion with a local comedian, 28-year-old Anton Tymoshenko, on what comedy's role is during a crisis.

The younger comedian explained that no subject matter is off-limits and estimated 90% of his current material revolves around the war and its effect on daily life.

Letterman himself performs a set in an underground comedy club in Kyiv.

"My name is Dave Letterman, and I came to Ukraine from the United States to get away from all the violent gunplay," he opened, getting a few laughs.

Pre-war footage of a young Zelenskyy mocking Putin during a standup routine is shown, and the president offers a joke during the interview that began with "two Jews from Odessa" and ended with Zelenskyy bashing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

In his Washington Post interview, Letterman discussed the slight unease over such a joke.

"I knew that it was a burn, as the kids say, on NATO, and I think the audience responded. He told it. What am I going to do? No, I’m sorry, Mr. President. What? I’m sorry. I don’t get it. No, I knew the implication of the joke."

There's a second interview

Some of the most compelling conversation came during a short follow-up interview, conducted remotely five weeks after Letterman and Zelenskyy's initial conversation.

The president discusses the effects of Russian strikes disabling Ukraine's power grid during the winter. It is worth watching until the end.

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Rory Appleton is the pop culture reporter at IndyStar. Contact him at 317-552-9044 and rappleton@indystar.com, or follow him on Twitter at @RoryDoesPhonics.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 5 takeaways from David Letterman's interview with Volodymyr Zelenskyy