The Public Policy Initiative at Penn State Behrend will host Oleksiy Goncharenko, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, for a discussion of the Russian war in Ukraine on April 24.

The program, which begins at 7 p.m. in Burke 180, is free and open to the public. A livestream will be available at https://psu.zoom.us/j/99530827507#success.

Goncharenko, a graduate of Odesa National Medical University, joined the Odesa Regional Council in 2010. During the referendum in Crimea, in 2014, he visited the peninsula and opposed the separation of Crimea from Ukraine.

Goncharenko was elected to Ukraine’s parliament in 2014. He is a member of the European Solidarity political group and has served in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, where he has advocated for human rights in Crimea and in the occupied lands of Donbas. He currently serves as president of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Goncharenko has advocated for the country internationally, speaking at Harvard University, Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania, among other institutions. He first visited Penn State Behrend in 2023.

Goncharenko’s talk will be moderated by Lena Surzhko Harned, associate teaching professor of political science and associate director of the Public Policy Initiative.

To learn more about the Public Policy Initiative and its programming, visit the Public Policy Initiative website.