Sitting down with Ukrainians visiting Rochester

By Evan Dawson,

Published September 17, 2025 at 2:30 PM EDT

Nine people sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a woman front left has long brown hair and is wearing a beige shirt, beige pants and a beige blazer; a woman front center has long brown hair and is wearing jeans, a white sweater and a blue and yellow scarf; a woman front right has short blonde hair and is wearing a black button-down shirt and jeans; a woman back far left has long brown hair and is wearing a red button-down shirt; a woman back near left has long blonde hair and is wearing a white shirt and a black blazer; a woman back center has long blonde hair and is wearing a white button-down shirt and a black vest; a man back near right has short brown hair and is wearing a light blue button-down shirt and a navy sweater; a woman back far right has long brown hair and is wearing a red and white patterned shirt; a man at center has short dark hair and is wearing a grey button-down shirt, jeans and brown shoes. — (foreground) Yullia Voitekhova, Natalia Vynobradova and Olha Stepanchenko, (background) Oksana Redkva, Lillia Matvilchuk, Svitlana Romanenko, Randy Stone and Tamara Denysenko with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Wednesday, September 17, 2025

A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. He is holding a pair of eyeglasses. The word "Connections" appears on the left side of the photo in vertical letters.

A group of Ukrainians are visiting Rochester this week, guests of the Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies at the University of Rochester. The group works in veteran reintegration across Ukraine.

We'll discuss the state of the war in Ukraine: what Ukrainians think and want; the state of negotiations; and what could lead to a lasting peace.

In studio:

Lillia Matvilchuk, public relations and media specialist at Veterans Center Poltava
Oksana Redkva, deputy director of educational and practical training at the Ternopil Professional College
Svitlana Romanenko, deputy director for academic affairs at the Center for Vocational and Technical Education in Odessa
Olha Stepanchenko, director of the Rivne Vocational College of Information Technology
Randy Stone, Ph.D., director of the Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies at the University of Rochester
Yullia Voitekhova, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship Support of the Lviv City Council
Natalia Vynobradova, facilitator