© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

An update on the evacuation of American twins born prematurely in Ukraine

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Many of you responded to a story we aired earlier this week about premature twins born through surrogacy in Ukraine. In a daring rescue, they were evacuated from Kyiv to join their American father in Poland. Well, today we have an update.

ALEX SPEKTOR: We're about to pick up Irma from the airport.

SHAPIRO: When I called the father, Alex Spektor, today, he was at the arrivals hall in Krakow to pick up his partner, Irma.

SPEKTOR: She's about to come out of the gate.

SHAPIRO: She's going to meet her sons for the first time tomorrow.

SPEKTOR: They've been keeping - they're still in the hospital. They have to be there for at least another week or two.

SHAPIRO: Alex, who goes by Sasha, got to feed his twins for the first time yesterday.

SPEKTOR: And today I got to hold them without, you know, the bundle, just, like, their tiny little bodies, the chicken legs and all.

SHAPIRO: Do they have different personalities yet, Lenny and Moishe?

SPEKTOR: They actually do. And I think that's the most incredible thing for me at least, just to learn about them and just to get to see the details of their faces and, you know, just to see the human being in them.

SHAPIRO: The surrogate, Katya, is safely in Lviv with her 6-year-old son. They're being evacuated to Poland tomorrow. And the medical equipment that Sasha brought from Chicago is now being used to take more babies out of Kyiv. Sasha has decided to use the contacts he made through this ordeal to organize the shipment of more medical supplies into Ukraine.

SPEKTOR: Yeah. I want to organize this flow of medical supplies to Poland and then to people who can disperse them throughout Ukraine.

SHAPIRO: He says now that their babies are safe, he wants to use the momentum he's built to help others.

(SOUNDBITE OF AMPARO'S "COASTAL DUSK")

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

That is our co-host Ari Shapiro reporting in Poland, near the border with Ukraine.

(SOUNDBITE OF AMPARO'S "COASTAL DUSK") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Ari Shapiro has been one of the hosts of All Things Considered, NPR's award-winning afternoon newsmagazine, since 2015. During his first two years on the program, listenership to All Things Considered grew at an unprecedented rate, with more people tuning in during a typical quarter-hour than any other program on the radio.
Courtney Dorning has been a Senior Editor for NPR's All Things Considered since November 2018. In that role, she's the lead editor for the daily show. Dorning is responsible for newsmaker interviews, lead news segments and the small, quirky features that are a hallmark of the network's flagship afternoon magazine program.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.