Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio

In this edition of Knyzka Corner, Myra reviews Airport, Sergei Loiko’s novel based on the 242‑day siege of Donetsk airport.Drawing on his experience as the only foreign reporter living with the defenders, Loiko depicts the Cyborgs’ determination, the brutality of the assault by Russian troops and mercenaries, and the personal turmoil of his fictional alter-ego, war correspondent Alexei Molchanov.The review highlights the novel’s blend of fact‑based detail, frontline observation, and the intertwined themes of courage, loss, love, and betrayal.Originally released in Ukrainian (2015) and Russian (2016), and translated into English by Alexander Cigale in 2018. Available on Amazon here (affiliate link).You can hear Pawlina's interview with Sergei Loiko recorded in 2016 here.

Svitlana Kominko, co‑founder and CEO of Maple Hope Foundation, describes the Heal a Mother’s Heart campaign and the organization’s extensive bereavement support work for mothers and widows of Ukraine’s fallen. A major component of this campaign is Ukrainian-designed silk scarves, which help to raise funds for this critical work.She also discusses the program’s community‑building, its support for women experiencing loss, and the upcoming charity webinar featuring well-known American grief educator Joanne Steen.To support the important work of Maple Hope Foundation visit their website here.---------------------Originally broadcast on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio in Vancouver on May 2, 2026, and in Nanaimo on May 6, 2026.--------------------Subscribe to the podcast and share it with others to stay connected to new episodes. You can hear the full weekly broadcast on MixCloud, and please visit our online home nashholos.com.

From the Nash Holos Audio Archives and the Ukrainian Food Flair cookbook, this flashback features Sylvia Molnar’s clear, practical instructions for making nalysnyky — the delicious Ukrainian crepes enjoyed sweet or savoury. You’ll find this recipe, along with others from the series, in the Ukrainian Food Flair cookbook, available from Amazon and other online booksellers.

In this vignette, Victor Sergeyev of Mikolayiv, Ukraine recalls a spring visit to Kyiv in April 1986, a trip meant only for routine work courses that unfolded into something far more ominous.He describes the city as it was before the truth emerged — the blossoms, the streets, the ordinary rhythms — and the first small signs that something was wrong in Chornobyl and Prypiat.His memories trace the shift from rumours to certainty: the sudden appearance of water hoses across the city, shelves stacked with red wine, round‑the‑clock public showers, frantic searches for dosimeters, and the quiet panic of people trying to leave Kyiv.Forty years later, the events he describes still stand as a record of that spring — and as a reminder that the Soviet regime collapsed under its own weight, while many wait for that history to repeat itself with the russian regime.

In this episode Myra Junyk reviews Serhy Yekelchyk’s Ukraine – What Everyone Needs to Know (2nd Edition), a comprehensive analysis of Ukraine’s development as an independent state and the challenges it has faced since 1991. The book updates Yekelchyk’s earlier work The Conflict in Ukraine and focuses on national identity, corruption, Russian aggression, and Ukraine’s international relationships.Myra outlines the book’s seven chapters, which address Ukraine’s strategic importance, its land and people, the post‑communist transition, the Orange Revolution and EuroMaidan, Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the war in Donbas, the 2022 full‑scale invasion, and Ukraine’s role in global security. Yekelchyk highlights the failure of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum to protect Ukraine and examines how American policymakers came to understand Ukraine’s significance in countering Russian ambitions.The episode also notes the author’s treatment of controversial topics, including historical myths, Ukrainian nationalism, systemic corruption, and the early period of Zelensky’s presidency. Yekelchyk provides readers with tools for further study, including a chronology, map, notes on sources, and an extensive reading list.Ukraine – What Everyone Needs to Know is available at Chapters/Indigo and Amazon (affiliate link).

First aired on Dec 9, 2023, this historical perspective on WWI is unexpectedly timely.Gene Berezovski of Ukraine War Amps brings it forward into the 21st century with stark parallels to Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine. He outlines how Ukraine stood at the centre of the First World War, caught between collapsing empires, and how many of the same pressures, patterns, and imperial behaviours persist today.Gene describes the front line in 1914 running through what is now Western Ukraine, the suppression of Ukrainian language and culture under Russian rule, and the contrasting freedoms Ukrainians experienced under the Austro‑Hungarian Empire. He also highlights the unification of Ukrainian lands in 1918–1919 and how today’s invasion has again united Ukrainians across regions.The focus then turns from historical context to the day‑to‑day realities confronting wounded veterans, displaced families, and frontline communities. Gene shares updates on Ukraine War Amps programs supporting wounded veterans, families of the fallen, displaced children, and elderly survivors — including recent aid deliveries, winter supplies, and frontline assistance coordinated through volunteers in Ukraine.If you would like to support them in their work, send a donation to them via Paypal or with an e-transfer to their email ukrainewaramps@gmail.com, or their website ukrainewaramps.ca  

This episode explores the surprising Ukrainian origins and remarkable cultural journey of Hava Nagila, one of the most recognizable songs in the world. The story begins with the melody itself — a nigun, a wordless Hassidic prayer tune sung since the mid‑1800s — which originated in a shtetl in Ukraine before becoming a global Jewish folk standard.The episode traces Pawlina's personal connection to Hava Nagila, from early encounters on television to the enduring emotional resonance the melody continues to hold. A chance conversation in Lviv with a Ukrainian man who identified as a born‑again Hassidic Jew sparked deeper curiosity about the song’s Ukrainian roots and led to further research.That search culminated in discovering Hava Nagila: The Movie, a documentary by award‑winning American filmmaker Roberta Grossman. The film investigates the song’s beginnings in Sadagora, Bukovina, where Grossman interviewed Ukrainian‑speaking locals, searched for traces of the Jewish community, and visited the ruins of a once‑great synagogue connected to the melody’s origins. The documentary then follows the song’s path to Palestine, where its lyrics were written, and through the upheavals of the world wars, the Holocaust, and the evolving identity of the Jewish people.Featuring interviews with cultural figures including Harry Belafonte, Connie Francis, Glen Campbell, and Leonard Nimoy, the film presents the song’s spiritual and cultural layers with humor and depth. It also highlights the song’s modern presence, from global pop culture to contemporary performances across Ukraine.Many of these performances can be found on YouTube, along with links on the Nash Holos website to additional videos and to places where Hava Nagila: The Movie can be purchased or rented.

In this episode of Ukrainian Food Flair on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio, Sylvia Molnar shares a tomato and yogurt salad made with sliced ripe tomatoes, sweet onion, yogurt mixed with sugar, salt, and pepper, and finished with fresh dill.She also reflects on the quality of Ukrainian dairy products and offers a tip for choosing sweet onions.This podcast features the voice of the late Sylvia Molnar, a beloved culinary personality in Vancouver, who presented her recipes, stories, and cooking on Nash Holos in the series Ukrainian Food Flair.The recipe appears in Ukrainian Food Flair: The Cookbook, published as a tribute to her culinary legacy and now available from online booksellers (including Amazon) to home cooks everywhere.