TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa is strengthening its ties with Ukraine as city leaders welcome a 13-member Ukrainian delegation and move forward with a Friendship City agreement with the city of Khmelnytskyi.
The delegation includes Khmelnytskyi Mayor Oleksandr Symchyshyn, Deputy Mayor Mykola Vavryshchuk and City Council member Yurii Vavryniuk, along with Ukrainian American community, business and cultural leaders from the Tampa Bay area.
The agreement is intended to build connections between the two cities through cultural, educational, economic and humanitarian cooperation.
Tetiana Chupryna, advocacy chair for Ukrainian National Women’s League of America Branch 124, said the relationship is ultimately about connecting people.
“The partnership is supposed to be about people, about cultural exchange, about business exchange, about ideas about how one country can be helpful to another country,” Chupryna said.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said the partnership carries personal significance for her because of her family’s connection to Ukraine.
“It’s very exciting for me personally as my sons were adopted from the Ukraine, but also for the city of Tampa — to have the sister city relationships where we can prosper economically from the relationship but also the cultural aspects,” Castor said. “It’s just unlimited.”
The proposed agreement establishes a five-year Friendship City relationship between Tampa and Khmelnytskyi. The relationship could eventually develop into a formal sister-city partnership.
The agreement identifies several areas where the cities could work together, including health care and rehabilitation, education, economic development, infrastructure and resilience, cultural exchanges and humanitarian support.
Immigration uncertainty remains for Ukrainians
The delegation’s visit comes as Ukrainians living in the United States face uncertainty over their immigration status.
Ukraine’s Temporary Protected Status designation and related benefits are currently set to terminate Oct. 19, 2026. TPS has provided temporary protections to eligible Ukrainians in the United States because of conditions stemming from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Iryna Karavan, president of Ukrainian National Women’s League of America Branch 124, said the local Ukrainian community feels the support of Tampa Bay while also closely watching what happens with federal immigration policy.
“We feel their love and support, but at the same time, we understand all of the Ukrainians that all of their immigration documents and immigration status will be extended,” Karavan said.
Among those navigating that uncertainty is Alona Dniprovska, a Ukrainian medical professional who came to the United States in 2023.
Dniprovska practiced as an orthopedic surgeon in Ukraine for more than 15 years. After coming to the United States, she had to rebuild her medical career, first working as a nurse before becoming a nurse practitioner in the Tampa Bay area.
“When I came here, I started all over from scratch,” Dniprovska said.
Dniprovska came to the United States through the Uniting for Ukraine program and later received TPS. She said she has submitted her immigration applications and has been waiting nearly two years for a decision on her green card application through marriage.
The uncertainty has made it difficult to make long-term plans.
“So we can’t plan basically anything,” Dniprovska said. “We can’t buy a house because we don’t know if we will live here, for example, in the next few months.”
Her elderly father remains in Ukraine, and Dniprovska said she has not seen him in about four years.
As Ukrainians in Tampa Bay navigate those questions, local advocates say relationships such as the one being established between Tampa and Khmelnytskyi can maintain connections between communities separated by thousands of miles and an ongoing war.
For Tampa and Khmelnytskyi, the Friendship City agreement is designed as an initial step. The five-year, non-binding relationship does not obligate either city to spend money and could eventually lead to a formal Sister City partnership.
Members of the Tampa-Khmelnytskyi delegation
The 13-member delegation includes:
Oleksandr Symchyshyn — Mayor of Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine.
Mykola Vavryshchuk — Deputy Mayor of Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine.
Yurii Vavryniuk — Member of the Khmelnytskyi City Council.
Tetiana Chupryna — Tampa resident, small-business owner and Ukrainian American community advocate; advocacy chair of Ukrainian National Women’s League of America Branch 124.
Elena Seitz — Tampa resident, creator of the International Cultural Educational Association and program director; member of UNWLA Branch 124 and the Tampa Sister Cities Committee.
Iryna Karavan — Tampa Bay resident and president of UNWLA Branch 124; Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Properties Group; leader and co-founder of the PURE Speaking Team; and member of the Ukrainian American Association.
Ivan Terzi — Tampa resident and founder and CEO of TBR Trade Group LLC.
Timafei Dolinyak — Tampa resident and founder and CEO of International Cultural and Entertainment Agency, ICEA LLC; DJ, producer and Ukrainian ambassador to music and culture.
Lyuba Khalus — Tampa Bay resident, officer at SUMA Federal Credit Union and member of UNWLA Branch 124.
Olha Mikula — Tampa Bay resident with a doctorate in philology; principal of the Ukrainian Sabbath School operated by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of the Epiphany; and creator of Ukrainian national costume shows.
Anna Parks — Tampa Bay resident, manager at Dillard’s at Citrus Park and fashion stylist with a focus on fashion, art and cultural connection.
Sergii Kostetskyi — Tampa Bay resident originally from Khmelnytskyi and president of SM Group USA Inc.
Lena Slywka — Tampa resident, director of contracting at BayCare Health System and vice president of UNWLA Branch 124.