Peter Zalmayev (SIPA ’08) grew up in Donetsk in Eastern Ukraine and immigrated to the United States, where he got citizenship. His parents stayed in Ukraine and, in 2014, after Russia invaded Donbas, he had to evacuate them from a war zone. Two years later, Peter moved back to Ukraine, settled in Kyiv, and launched a talk show. After Russia attacked the capital he evacuated his wife and two small children to Western Ukraine and traveled back toward Kyiv to report on the war. Listen to his story.

Listen to the trailer and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon,iHeart Radio, PlayerFM.

Peter Zalmayev is cohost of The Week on Priamyi Kanal and director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative. You can find his YouTube channel here.

About Voices of Ukraine: Since Russia invaded Ukraine, we’ve been hearing a lot of firsthand accounts of lives upended by the war. Listen to our new podcast, Voices of Ukraine, featuring the voices of Harriman community members who are in Ukraine or deeply connected to it.

This episode was written and produced by Masha Udensiva-Brenner and edited by Ann Cooper. Trailer edited by Daniel Alarcón. Music by Ivan Nebesnyy. Art by Victoria Tentler-Krylov. Editorial help and production assistance from Jordan Waller. Thanks to Marko Andryczyk and Nathan Schiller for feedback on the episode.