Denys Sharlai on Ukrainian Diaspora Media and Identity

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/12/24

Denys Sharlai is a Ukrainian journalist and television host based in Toronto, Canada. Educated in journalism at universities in Kyiv and Zurich, he began his career as an online lifestyle reporter for ICTV in Ukraine, where his travel and consumer pieces drew millions of readers. After emigrating, he joined Kontakt Ukrainian TV Network under producer Jurij Klufas, first as a freelance video reporter and later as a host. Working in Ukrainian with English segments, he covers diaspora life, culture, and war-related issues, while navigating linguistic shifts, editorial constraints, and the goal of building stronger links between Ukraine and its communities.

In this interview, Scott Douglas Jacobsen speaks with Denys Sharlai, a Ukrainian journalist and TV host at Kontakt Ukrainian TV Network in Toronto. Sharlai recounts his path from ICTV online journalism in Ukraine to hosting a diaspora-focused program in Canada, developing on-camera confidence and video-reporting skills in a second language. He reflects on editorial pressures, tensions between independent journalism and propaganda, and his role in connecting Ukrainian communities abroad with those in Ukraine. The conversation explores differences between homeland and diaspora cultures, his festival work, audience feedback, aspirations for higher-quality diaspora media, and dreams of hosting major Ukrainian news programs.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: All right. Hello, welcome to the Denys Sharlai Journalist Profile interview. How are you?

Denys Sharlai: I’m good, thank you. What about you?

Jacobsen: I’m good. I just got back from extensive travel, and now I get to interview the excellent Denys. When did you become a TV host?

Sharlai: It’s a complicated story. When I moved from Switzerland to Canada, I tried to find a new job as a journalist, but it was really hard because my English wasn’t strong enough for either Canada or journalism. One day, I sent an email to Ukrainian media in Toronto. It was a Ukrainian newspaper and two channels.

About three months later, I received a response from the Ukrainian TV Network Kontakt, from Jurij Klufas.

I received a message from Jurij. He wrote that he would like to meet me at a Ukrainian gallery in Toronto. I had a meeting with him, and he offered me a freelance journalism job. I started producing different video reports.

The first one was from the meeting with Zelensky and Trudeau. That was about two years ago. About a year later, Jurij Klufas had difficulties with the previous TV host. Her name is Diana. In that situation, we had only one solution, but I do not really know how to explain it.

I began working as a TV host for the first time. We thought Diana would continue as a TV host, but she no longer wanted to. That is how I started to be a TV host. That was about a year ago.

Since then, I have been a TV host at the Kontakt Ukrainian TV Network in Toronto. It is a long story. 

Jacobsen: Were you nervous taking on that role?

Sharlai: A bit. It is much easier now, but at the beginning, I was really nervous because I had no experience as a TV host or with making video reports. In Ukraine, I only wrote text. I worked as an online journalist for ICTV, an online media outlet. It was a morning program, and I worked on the website, writing lifestyle articles. This was before the full-scale invasion. I wrote many articles about travel, including how to find cheap tickets.

This was very interesting for Ukrainians. Once, I received about 3 million views on one of my articles. It was the most popular article on that website, and I wrote it.

That was a big deal for me because my name was on the article. It felt really good. I also received extra money for it, which was nice.

Now I work as a TV host. Sometimes it is not easy because I have to speak in English, which is not my strongest skill.

But I need to improve my English. Every day, I try to be the best version of myself, the best version of a TV host.

Sharlai: And now I can speak English, but it is still a bit broken. I do have a Ukrainian Slavic accent, and some people may think it sounds Russian, but you can understand me, and I can understand you.

The first time, I was really scared to record any video. If it was in the studio, that was different, but doing an interview or an intro for a TV program outside, where people can see and hear you, was really scary for me. Now it works well. I do not care what people think about how I do my intro. That is enough of my speech.

Jacobsen: When you look at your progression as a TV host, particularly within a language-specific cultural community, what do you see as the development of your skills over time? In other words, what are the core skills, and how have you developed them in the process of doing your work?

Sharlai: It is a bit difficult to explain my skills. Sometimes I am losing some of my Ukrainian skills. The Ukrainian spoken here is very different from that spoken in Ukraine. Sometimes when I try to speak quickly in Ukrainian, Canadian Ukrainians do not understand me.

I speak fast and use modern vocabulary, and sometimes Russian-influenced words appear because the USSR’s leadership changed Ukrainian vocabulary as part of assimilation policies. As a result, we now have different words, and it is hard for someone born in Canada who learned heritage Ukrainian to understand someone born in Ukraine speaking modern Ukrainian fully.

As a TV host, I have to speak very slowly. It sounds like: “Hello, my name is Denys, and today I would like to tell you about…” But on Canadian TV and Ukrainian TV, a host usually speaks quickly while still being understood, because we do not have much time for all the news, and something is happening every moment.

For Ukrainian TV, it works differently because we actually have much time, and sometimes we do not know what will be shown. Our boss can change the whole video at the last moment, and then we have to redo the entire intro for the program. It is really difficult, and it has been a new skill for me — learning to work under stress.

When you know a better way to do something and your boss says, “I am your boss, so I know better,” it is not always true. I have an education. I graduated from two universities, one in Kyiv and one in Zurich. In journalism, I often know better how to create content and write news.

In Ukraine, we have what we call a beze — very short news, one or two sentences. A slang term used in Ukrainian journalism meaning a very short news item or brief mention; essentially, a quick, minimum-detail news brief. One time, I tried to do that for our program, and many viewers told me, “Denys, this is very good, you are doing something new for the TV program.” But my boss told me, “We will not do that anymore. We do not need it.” I said, “OK, it is not a big deal. You pay me, and I will do what you said.”

Sometimes I feel less confident because I am losing some of my Ukrainian journalism skills. But I am improving my language and improving my video skills. I am no longer scared of the camera. I feel very open when I see the camera and need to say something. That is good.

But in another way, I have lost some of my real journalism skills — like how to produce independent meaning. My boss sometimes does not focus on journalism but on something closer to propaganda. We do not show other viewpoints on a situation. Real journalism must show two or even three perspectives on the same problem.

It feels like completely different skills and a different feeling. I am very happy to be a TV host. It is a good opportunity to improve my skills. It is a great honour to be a TV host for the Ukrainian diaspora, as many older people watch this channel. It is not for young audiences, like people around 20 to 35. It is mostly for older people, aged 50 to 70.

Do you know about the Ukrainian festival in Bloor West Village? It is the biggest Ukrainian festival in North America. In three days, about one million people visit this event in Toronto. I was a master of ceremonies with Anastasia Romashko this year at the Bloor West Village Ukrainian Festival.

Many people recognize me. They know my name and tell me, “Denys, it is so good to see you in real life. Every week I see you on TV, and I really like how you do the program.” Someone might tell me, “Denys, maybe you can speak more slowly,” or someone else says, “Tell Jurij he needs to make better videos because there are problems with the video quality or the sound.”

All of that makes me feel a bit… I do not know how to explain it. When I am in a stressful situation, I try to calm down and stay calm, without letting my emotions get the better of me. In real life, I am a very emotional person — I laugh, I talk a lot, I express myself. But in journalism, I try to be neutral and not show what I feel or think. I try to be polite and give answers like “OK, yes, we will do that” and “Thank you for your question, it is very nice to see you.”

That is an example of what happens when I meet someone who knows me from TV. It is a good feeling when strangers know your name. I feel a bit like a star — but only within the Ukrainian diaspora, especially among older people.

I really want to make Kontakt TV much better because this TV network has real potential to become a major media outlet for the Ukrainian diaspora, like Voice of America. But we need to change our logo, our visual identity, and our approach to journalism.

That is it. Sorry for the long speech. It may not be the answer to your question, but it is what I feel.

Jacobsen: How do you feel, or what sense do you get, of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada in contrast to those in Ukraine? As people separate geographically, they retain core elements of the culture, yet they develop a distinctive flavour of it in their new geography. In the Canadian context, how would you characterize the Canadian Ukrainian community compared to your home city in Ukraine? I mean this outside of the war context, although the war obviously affects the answer. I want to explore how culture evolves as people move around the world.

Sharlai: First of all, I still cannot believe that people who were born thousands of kilometres from Ukraine still speak Ukrainian, follow Ukrainian traditions, go to Ukrainian churches, and share Ukrainian culture.

For example, I have been to Brazil, and it was very interesting to me because I never would have imagined that there are about half a million people of Ukrainian descent in the Ukrainian diaspora there. They even created a Ukrainian city there more than a hundred years ago.

It is the same in Canada, the United States, and Brazil , wherever Ukrainians live. It feels strange to me because people so far away from Ukraine can still be Ukrainian. They may have Canadian, American, or Brazilian passports, but they still feel Ukrainian.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, some people do not feel Ukrainian in the same way. They still speak Russian and sometimes feel more culturally Russian.

This is why we sometimes have small conflicts or tensions between the Ukrainian diaspora and people who have just arrived from Ukraine. Newly arrived Ukrainians may speak Russian, while the diaspora — people born in Canada to Ukrainian families — cannot understand why. They say, “You are Ukrainian, you must speak Ukrainian.”

This creates conflicts between the new generation who moved from Ukraine because of the war and the Canadian-born Ukrainian community.

For me, as a host, it is important to explain to the Ukrainian diaspora that the new generation coming from Ukraine is also good people, a good part of the community. They are not bad because they speak Russian. They are Ukrainians — but in a different situation, shaped by assimilation and by living with Russian influence. That must be explained to the diaspora.

It is a big task to help unite all parts of the Ukrainian community with Ukraine itself.

When I was in Brazil, I spoke with the Ukrainian consul there. He told me that Ukraine “lost this connection” with the Brazilian Ukrainian community because no one in Ukraine pays attention to them. They want to renew this connection because it is very important.

I said, “Yes, this is why I am here. This is why I am making a video about you — so Ukraine and Ukrainians can see the diaspora, whether in Canada or Brazil.”

It is wonderful that people living so far away can still be Ukrainian, can feel Ukrainian, can think like Ukrainians. We may be different, but we remain part of one country, one culture. Sometimes, it is really hard to explain, because every part of the Ukrainian diaspora changes Ukrainian traditions a little bit. For example, in the Canadian diaspora, many families who arrived around a hundred years ago usually came from the Lviv and Ternopil regions of Western Ukraine. They have different traditions.

I am from central Ukraine. We have a tradition called Kalyta. A traditional Ukrainian ritual sweet bread made for St. Andrew’s Day. It is hung on a string, and participants try to bite it while another person raises it to make the task playful and challenging. The ritual is part of festive winter folk traditions. It was just three days ago, on Saint Andriy’s Day. When I asked my friends in the Ukrainian diaspora, “Do you know what Kalyta is?” they had no idea. This tradition exists mostly in the central regions: Cherkasy, parts of the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions.

It is good to share this tradition with other Ukrainians and introduce something new to the diaspora.

Now we also have huge corruption scandals in Ukraine, which is a big issue for the diaspora. Many Ukrainians here work hard to raise donations to help the Ukrainian army. But when corruption scandals appear, it can discourage people. If you hear that a country has a corruption problem, you might hesitate to donate because you think the money will be stolen.

But to answer your question: yes, I feel a responsibility to unite the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada with Ukraine. I am a TV host. I am a face of the Ukrainian diaspora in Toronto, maybe even in all of Canada.

I also have many friends who are journalists in Ukraine. They tell me, “Denys, we need a strong connection with the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada. We need news from the diaspora, and we have no idea how to get it because we cannot find a strong TV channel in Canada that covers Ukrainian diaspora life.”

This is a problem for both the Ukrainian diaspora here and journalists in Ukraine. There is no clear connection for sharing news about Ukrainians in Canada. For me, and for Canadian Ukrainians, this is a big deal.

Jacobsen: Do you have a favourite interviewee so far in your career? And do you have a favourite topic that you tend to cover? My own favourite topic when I interview…

Sharlai: Usually, we speak about Ukraine and the Ukrainian diaspora, and honestly, I do not love that question. I prefer speaking with a person about their personality and life experiences. For example, if it is a Ukrainian singer, actor, politician — anyone — I love learning about the person.

I love learning about what someone is doing in their life and how they became who they are today. The main topic, of course, is always the war. When a famous person from Ukraine arrives here, the diaspora wants to know how they feel and what life in Ukraine is like right now.

That is the main topic — what is happening in Ukraine, how the war is affecting people.

But personally, I prefer talking about personality, getting to know someone better. I want to be more of an interviewer than just a TV host, because I enjoy talking with people of different personalities. That helps me improve my communication skills and learn how to work with different people.

That is a new skill for me. And yes, that is it.

Jacobsen: We have a few minutes. What is your dream interview — or your dream job in general?

Sharlai: My dream interview? That is a good question. A year ago, I wanted to interview the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, but now I don’t. It would still be nice to do that interview, but now I feel that I am not really into politics.

I am considering starting my own YouTube channel and doing different interviews. For example, I really want to interview Maria Efrosinina. She is a famous Ukrainian TV host—she was very popular about 20 years ago.

She is very famous in Ukraine. She interviews artists, journalists, politicians — many different people.

Right now, I would like to interview her, Masha Efrosinina. Her name is Maria or Masha — I do not know exactly what is on her passport. Twenty years ago, she used “Masha,” which sounds more Russian, and now she uses “Maria,” which sounds more Ukrainian. The situation is always changing.

As for my dream job, I would like to be a TV host for 1+1 Media in Ukraine. That was my dream when I was a child.

We have TSN — Television News — the most popular and famous news program in Ukraine. I always wanted to be a TV host for that program. That is my dream.

Jacobsen: Do you have any favourite aphorisms or quotes within Ukrainian culture? We can close on that.

Sharlai: Aphorisms? Honestly, I do not think much about that in relation to Ukrainian culture. I know many stereotypes about Ukrainians and the Ukrainian diaspora, but I am not sure about aphorisms about Ukrainians.

Jacobsen: You have probably heard the phrase “all that glitters is not gold.” It means that many things that truly matter do not have monetary value. I mean something like that, but describing Ukrainian culture — an idea, an ethic,  not necessarily a funny stereotype.

Sharlai: I know many stereotypes, both good and bad, about Ukrainians and the Ukrainian diaspora. First of all, there is the stereotype that Ukrainians love salo — but I hate salo—the same with horilka and vodka. But we also have good stereotypes: Ukrainians are very hard-working.

I already mentioned stereotypes about Ukrainian dishes and food: that Ukrainians love salo and love drinking horilka. But that is not true now. Many Ukrainians live a healthy lifestyle. For example, I hate salo, and I hate alcohol. 

A good stereotype is that Ukrainians are good workers — we can work in construction, journalism, medicine, be doctors , whatever. We are smart and flexible, with extensive life experience. We know how to change countries, create new documents, and build a new life in a completely new place.

For example, I have already changed countries twice. I lived in Ukraine, then Switzerland, and now I live in Canada. That is part of my life experience, and part of that stereotype — Ukrainians adapt well. The Nation has good and bad people. But in Canada, one stereotype is that Ukrainians are smart.

There is another stereotype about our faces — our “resting face” — that we look rude. But when you start speaking with us, we are very friendly.

Jacobsen: Thank you for your time today. We will be in touch. I need another cup of coffee.

Sharlai: Thank you so much. Thank you for your time and for your interview. This was really nice. It was my first interview ever with a Canadian journalist, so it was very nice. Thank you.

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