Myroslava Gongadze is the Eastern Europe Chief for the Voice of America. She is a prominent and seasoned Ukrainian journalist currently based in Warsaw, Poland. In this interview, Ms. Gongadze discusses the critical need for U.S. aid for Ukraine, Ukraine's air defenses and its major gains in the Black Sea, the Polish blockade of Ukraine's grain exp…

Ukrainian American Tamara Syby-Holovak is the Razom project lead for the Ukraine response initiative and welcome center in the New York City area. She is also the refugee coordinator for Ukrainian Jersey City and the Vice President with Soyuz Ukrainok Branch #143. Tamara's Ukrainian family roots in Jersey City go back more than 100 years. Ms. Syby-…

Anders Aslund is a Swedish economist, former Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and a preeminent specialist on East European economies. He has been closely involved with Ukraine and its economy since the 1980's. He is a prolific author and his book, "How Ukraine Became a Market Economy and Democracy (2009)", is a comprehensive account of how Ukr…

Yuliya Ziskina is a policy and advocacy attorney specializing in information policy and public international law. She is also a Senior Legal Fellow for the Ukraine advocacy group Razom. Ms. Ziskina reviews the options for using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine's reconstruction. https://newlinesinstitute.org/people/yuliya-m-ziskina/https://www.…

The Ukrainian American restaurant Veselka made its debut in the Lower East Side of New York City in 1954. Veselka, which means rainbow in Ukrainian, was founded by Volodymyr and Olha Darmochwal in 1954. Their son-in-law Tom Birchard later took over management and operated the restaurant for many years. Eventually he passed the torch to his son Jaso…

Peter Dickinson is the editor of the UkraineAlert blog at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center and the publisher of Business Ukraine and Lviv Today magazines. He is a well known British journalist and media manager in Kyiv and has been focused on Ukraine since the 1990's. Mr. Dickinson discusses Ukraine as it grapples with the Russian invasion now…

Ukrainian Master Chef Yevhen Klopotenko has become an innovative cultural ambassador for Ukrainian cuisine. Mr. Klopotenko applied to UNESCO to obtain international recognition for borshch. As a result of his efforts, in July 2022 UNESCO inscribed the Culture of Ukrainian borshch on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of urgent safegua…

Kurt Volker is an American diplomat with more than 35 years experience in government, academia and the private sector. He is a well known expert in U.S. foreign and national security policy. He was the US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations from 2017-2019 and the US Ambassador to NATO in 2008-2009. Ambassador Volker discusses the Russia…

Stefan Korshak is the senior defense correspondent for the Kyiv Post newspaper published in English in Kyiv, Ukraine. He talks about his experiences during the early days of the war, the ongoing conflict and the technology Ukraine is using to secure a strategic advantage during the war. https://www.kyivpost.com/authors/11…

Lucia Bondar is a Ukrainian publisher and author. Her coffee table books focus on architecture and design in Ukraine. Ms. Bondar's latest book, "Ukraine Rising: Contemporary Creative Culture from Ukraine" is a collaboration with the independent German book publisher Gestalten based in Berlin. This book presents the work of the Ukrainian creative co…

In 2017 Ukrainian American doctors Nelya and Serhii Melnitchouk founded a non-profit to work on improving cancer and trauma care in Ukraine. The focus of Global Medical Knowledge Alliance (GMKA) is to develop physician and patient educational content that is evidence based, written by experts, and available through an online educational platform. S…

The implementation of geothermal energy in Ukraine could bring an important new source to ensure energy security. Taras Popadynets, head of Geothermal Ukraine, and Yuliia Demchuk, board member, discuss why the NGO Geothermal Ukraine was established and what the advantages are in the implementation of geothermal energy in Ukraine.https://geothermalu…

Prof. Volodymyr Dubovyk is the Director, Center for International Studies at Mechnikov National University, Odesa, Ukraine. He is a Ukrainian expert on U.S.-Ukraine relations and security in the Black Sea region. Prof. Dubovyk is currently a visiting scholar at the Tufts University Fletcher Russia and Eurasia program in Massachusetts. He offers his…

On June 5, 2023, the Kahkovka Dam was breached in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine. The disaster has been cited as evidence of Russian ecological warfare against Ukraine. Freelance Ukrainian American journalist Mark Temnycky talks about what happened and the long term impact for Ukraine and the global economy. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/…

The Holodomor Research and Education Consortium (HREC) promotes the research, study, and understanding of the Holodomor, which was the man-made Famine in Ukraine of 1932–33. HREC was established in 2013 with the generous support of the Temerty Foundation as a project of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) at the University of Alberta…

Pavlo Kovtoniuk is a cofounder of the Ukrainian Health Center (UHC). The UHC is a think tank based in Kyiv Ukraine offering consultancy, analytics, and educational services. Mr. Kovtoniuk talks about the extreme challenges faced by the health care system in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2024 and offers his views on what might…

Nataliya Gumenyuk is a Ukrainian journalist and expert on foreign affairs. She is a cofounder of the independent media Hromadske TV and the Reckoning Project, which was established to document war crimes in Ukraine. Ms. Gumenyuk is also the CEO of the Public Interest Journalism Lab. She gives her perspectives on how Ukrainian society has changed du…

There is an ongoing battle against Russian disinformation about Ukraine being fought today. Julia Petryk, the head of PR with the Ukrainian software firm MacPaw, is also the cofounder of the Ukrainian PR Army. The worldwide group (mostly volunteer) was formed shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine occurred in February 2022. Ms. Petryk talks …

Alex Lissitsa is an agribusiness expert, a Presidium member with the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club and CEO of the Warsaw-listed agricultural company IMC. He discusses the current Russian blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea grain exports and shipping and its impact on global food insecurity. www.linkedin.com/in/alex-lissitsa/…

The Ukrainian Canadian Daniel Bilak has spent 30 years helping to develop a western style governmental administration in Ukraine. A lawyer by profession, he has also been involved with managing investment opportunity in the country. Today Mr. Bilak is serving in Ukraine's territorial defense forces. He reviews his valuable efforts and talks about t…

Katherine Marsh is a Ukrainian American journalist and author. Her latest book, "The Lost Year: A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine", is a middle-grade survival story that traces a painful family secret back to the Holodomor, the horrific forced famine in Ukraine in the 1930's. Katherine discusses the history of her family and how she drew fro…

On June 23rd-24th, the Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin led a military rebellion in Russia. His troops took over the Russian military command center Rostov-on-Don and some of them marched on Moscow. Prigozhin recalled his troops before they reached the Russian capital. Political Science Professor Alexander Motyl, who is an expert on Soviet and …

Oleg Drozdov is the owner of the well-known Ukrainian architectural firm Drozdov & Partners. He is also the cofounder of the Kharkiv School of Architecture established in 2017. In 2022, Mr. Drozdov cofounded Ro3kvit, a coalition of Ukrainian and international architects, urban planners and artists dedicated to assisting the recovery and reconstruct…

Sasha Maslov, who was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, is a Ukrainian American portrait photographer and visual storyteller. He has done work for major global media companies like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and many others. Sasha has produced several books of his photographs including "Ukrainian Railroad Ladies (2020)…

Nadia Parfan is a Ukrainian anthropologist, programmer, documentary film director and producer. She is also the founder of the online streaming service "Takflix" (https://takflix.com/en). Takflix is a unique video-on-demand streaming service to watch Ukrainian films, which are hand-picked by its curators. It has about 70,000 registered users who ar…

Alexander Vindman, a Ukrainian American who was born in Kyiv, is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and former director for European affairs with the U.S. National Security Council (NSC). As a foreign area officer specializing in Eurasia, he served in the U.S. embassies in Kyiv and Moscow. Mr. Vindman received a Master of Arts degree in Russian…

Julian Kytasty is a Ukrainian American composer, singer, kobzar, bandurist, flutist and conductor. He has performed around the world and collaborated with many different groups including the well known Yara Arts Group of New York City. Julian descends from a long line of bandura players in his family. In this interview, he talks about his distingui…

Eight years ago, Israeli-American film director, producer and cinematographer Evgeny Afineevsky released the documentary “Winter on Fire,” the award-winning film that tells the story of the Ukrainian Maidan revolution of 2013-2014. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, he felt it was his duty to continue telling the story of the brave Ukra…

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought with it a large-scale problem with mines. It is estimated that about 35-40% of the country is covered with mines and unexploded ordnance on land, in the seas and in lakes and rivers. This poses a great threat to the public, the economy and in particular agriculture and therefore global food safety. Tymur …

World Central Kitchen (WCK) is a non-profit NGO not-for-profit delivering meals to people affected by natural disasters. It was founded by chef José Andrés in 2010. For the first time, WCK entered a war zone when it began operating in Ukraine in 2022. Yuliya Stefanyuk, Ukraine country leader for WCK, talks about her experiences with the humanitaria…

Dr. Taras Kuzio is a well-known British Ukrainian writer and author and a professor of political science with the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Kyiv, Ukraine. He is an expert in Ukrainian political, economic and security affairs. In this interview, Prof. Kuzio reviews Ukraine's current prospects for victory in its war with Russia an…

"Escape from Mariupol: A Survivor's True Story" is co-authored by Adoriana Marik (a pseudonym) and Anne Howard. This newly published book recounts the life of a 31-year-old woman trapped in a basement and underground tunnels for more than a month in Russian-occupied Mariupol, Ukraine, in the spring of 2022. She also describes her experiences trying…

Hope for Ukraine is a New Jersey-based non-profit established in 2016 to help children obtain needed medical treatment in Ukraine. Yuriy Boyechko, president of the organization, explains that with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Hope for Ukraine has expanded its mission to deliver food and other relief supplies to the war-torn cou…

Ukraine's air defense systems are critical to protect the country against Russian missile and drone attacks. Technologist and entrepreneur Dmytro Bielievtsov, the CTO of the startup Respeecher, discusses a new project, Zvook, which is developing an acoustic monitoring network powered by AI. The goal of the project is to enhance Ukraine's air defens…

As of November 29, 2022, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports that almost 7.9 million Ukrainian refugees have been recorded across Europe. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reports in December 2022 that more than 82,000 Ukrainians and their immediate family members have been paroled into the U.S. under the Uniting f…

Denys Gurak, the CEO and cofounder of the 3D bioprinting company A.D.A.M., has made significant contributions to Ukraine's economy for many years. Now based in the U.S., he is a partner in the ff Blue and Yellow Heritage Fund that plans to make a major investment in Ukrainian tech startups. He reviews his career and discusses why Ukrainian tech sta…

Vadim Granovskiy is a well known Ukrainian coffee entrepreneur and the founder of Coffee in Action. His charity fund supports the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the Coffee Care project which supplies high quality coffee and brewing equipment to Ukrainian soldiers. Vadim talks about how he became a world renowned coffee entrepreneur and why he tran…

Since the Russo-Ukrainian war began in February 2022, the Ukrainian agricultural sector has faced many very difficult challenges in its effort to keep operating as a major player in the global economy. Alex Lissitsa is an agribusiness expert, a Presidium member with the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club and CEO of the Warsaw-listed agricultural company I…

In 2016 journalist and writer Bohdan Logvynenko created Ukraїner as a volunteer media project. Through in-depth research called "expeditions", the multimedia platform aims to create an understanding of who Ukrainians are and to put the findings in an easily accessible mass media format online. Yuliia Tymoshenko, editor-in-chief of the English langu…

Ukraine has experienced repeated attacks on its energy infrastructure by Russian missiles and drones. Andrian Prokip, an energy analyst with the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute, talks about the October 2022 attacks and what needs to be done to repair the damage. He also reviews what steps must be taken to prevent future attacks. https://www.wilson…

Marina Sorina, a Ukrainian emigre from Kharkiv, Ukraine, arrived in Verona, Italy in 1995. She is a tour guide and and an active volunteer member of "Malve di Ucraina" cultural association . Marina talks about the development of the Ukrainian community in Italy at the end of the 20th century and reviews the current situation for Ukrainian war refug…

The career of Ukrainian Canadian Michael Bociurkiw as a global affairs analyst, speaker and journalist in both print and live media spans several decades. Early in his career, he covered the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster as a correspondent for The Ukrainian Weekly. Michael is a a frequent commentator on BBC World Television, BBC World Service Rad…

October 14, 2022 marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrainska Povstanska Armiia, "UPA") in Western Ukraine. From 1942 to 1954 this group of young Ukrainian partisans fought against Germany, the Soviet Union and Poland for Ukrainian independence. Christina Kotlar, the daughter of Julian "Levko" Kotlar, talks …

Yurii Kovryzhenko is a Ukrainian chef and cofounder of the London neo bistro Mriya (the Dream). He talks about his vision for this new restaurant and how it should become a very special Ukrainian cultural gathering place in the UK. The restaurant was opened on August 31, 2022. In an effort to help these newcomers in London, Mriya is staffed solely …

Urban Space Radio was started by the NGO Teple Misto ("Warm City") in the western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk in 2015. Initially the media platform only offered popular music produced by Ukrainian musicians, but added podcasts in 2018. CEO Nadiia Hulchuk talks about the history of the media platform and its efforts to bring together, inform a…

Volodymyr Yermolenko is a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, director of analytics at Internews Ukraine and host of the "Explaining Ukraine" podcast. In this interview, he explores Ukraine's national identity and how it was shaped. He also looks at Putin's views about Ukraine and why he thinks a diplomatic solution to the war i…

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, it is estimated that nearly 12.8 million people have been displaced. About 7.7 million people are internally displaced within Ukraine and in need of housing. Slava Balbek, the founder and CEO of the architectural firm Balbek Bureau, and John Shmorhun, the Chairman of the NGO MoveUkraine, discuss th…

Jaroslaw (Slavko) Martyniuk is a retired energy economist and sociologist. He was born in Ukraine at the start of World War II. His family made a narrow escape from Communism and settled in Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany. Eventually, the family emigrated to Chicago in the U.S. Some members of his extended family who remained in Ukraine ended up in th…

Meest-America, the international package and freight delivery service for Eastern Europe, has played a key role in delivering much-needed humanitarian supplies to Ukraine during the war. COO Natalia Brandafi talks about how the company was forced to pivot from its primary mission after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 to transport h…

On June 23, 2022 the European Union formally approved Ukraine's candidate for membership status. Prof. Alexander Motyl, professor of political science at Rutgers-Newark University in Newark, N.J. and an expert on Ukraine, Russia and the USSR, talks about the significance of EU candidate member status for Ukraine and what the next steps might be to …