RБК-Україна's lifestyle project Wave has published a selection of five interviews from its own YouTube archive, featuring well-known Ukrainian artists and TV presenters talking about things that rarely make it into the public space: personal losses, professional turning points, and life-changing decisions. The selection includes conversations with Olena Shoptenko, Larysa Rusnak, Oleksiy Sukhanov, actress Naboka, and singer Prykhodko. What unites every episode is that the interlocutors speak not about their current project or release, but about the inner shift that has occurred over recent years.
Shoptenko: A Castle, Christian the Austrian, and Dropping Strict Athletic Discipline
In her interview, Olena Shoptenko talks about a new stage in her life: meeting Austrian Christian at a charity event for Ukrainian children in Vienna, followed by a wedding in an old castle. The choreographer explains why the couple postponed the ceremony, how children from previous marriages agreed on things, and which Ukrainian and Austrian traditions they managed to combine at a single event. However, according to Wave's editorial assessment, the key part of the conversation lies not in the wedding details, but in how Shoptenko is rethinking her attitude toward herself: after years of strict athletic discipline, she is learning to "be weak," adjusting her ambitions, and mastering a new profession. The editorial team emphasizes that this is precisely the part worth hearing for those used to constantly demanding more from themselves.
Rusnak: 18 Years on Television, the Loss of a Mother, and the Fear of Rejection
Viewers know Larysa Rusnak from theater, cinema, dubbing, and the TV project "Loto-Zabava." In the interview, the actress talks about what ending her work on the television project after 18 years on air meant to her. A separate, deeply personal block of the conversation is devoted to the loss of her mother and rethinking her complex relationship with her: Rusnak discusses turning to a psychologist, shifts in her worldview, and her mother's traits that she now notices in herself. Alongside this, the episode covers the backstage of the profession: the fear of rejections, a role the actress asked for herself in the theater, ageism, and actual earnings in dubbing.
Sukhanov: "Govoryt Ukraina" as the Main Project of a Lifetime and a Diagnosis That Changed the Routine
Oleksiy Sukhanov, who is used to listening to other people's stories on air, becomes the main interlocutor in this episode himself. He talks about choosing Ukraine as his home, mastering the Ukrainian language, trust in people, and the boundaries of public life. One of the most personal parts is his memories of the talk show "Govoryt Ukraina": he took the closure of the project as a personal blow because years of work tied him to the team and the heroes. "It was the most important project of my life," Sukhanov confessed. The episode also features past mistakes, his personal life, and the story of how he learned about his diabetes.
Naboka and Prykhodko: A Destroyed House in the Donetsk Region and Confronting One's Own Past
Star of the series "Catching Kaidash" and the film "Pryputni" Naboka talks in her interview about her destroyed parental home in the Donetsk region, the loss of three men, and her first marriage, which she left due to domestic abuse. At the same time, she remains a straightforward conversationalist: arguments on film sets, attitudes toward colleagues, acting fees, and her own pension. A separate story is her dramatic role in the film "Tryvala vtecha," which the Ukrainian audience never got to see. Singer Prykhodko, in turn, details her position regarding her past in Russian show business, performing at Eurovision for Russia, returning to Ukraine, and her attitude toward her own Russian-language songs. She answers why she doesn't translate old hits, what language she raises her children in, and how she evaluates decisions made at various stages of her career. The episode also covers fear for her children, life under shelling, and thoughts about potentially leaving the stage.
Why This Selection Works Right Now
Wave emphasizes that each of the five conversations "can strike a chord" with viewers because the interviewees share experiences that usually stay behind the scenes. The editors note that in Prykhodko's case, the conversation is especially interesting due to the clash between the artist's personal beliefs and the journalist's questions: she provides more context to statements that are otherwise easily reduced to a single short clip. All five interviews are available on the Wave YouTube channel, and the selection is published on the website wave.rbc.ua in the "RБК-Україна" lifestyle content section.
