I was aware Volodya was short for Vladimir, but until recently had no idea Vova is as well. I was just curious if one is more standard over the other (I would assume Volodya is since I knew about that one!) and is there like a default? I know it is normally just used between friends/family in which case they should just "know" what people call you, but is there a reason people opt towards one over the other?

Also, any pronunciation help for Volodymyr? I never got that one answered, I went with Russian spelling in my name so not exactly a crucial question, just curious (Vladimir was added as a middle name when I was Christmated into the Orthodox Church with St. Vladimir as my Patron Saint). Is it just like it is spelled? "Voh-loh-di-mir"? Or more like "Vah-lah-di-mir"? I know no Ukrainian so...