Christmas is around the corner. But how do Ukrainians look at the festival – in the middle of the ongoing war? Our Ukrainian colleagues talked about it with people in their home country. We have published the minutes of the talks in our newsletter this week. To conclude: This is how Andriy Nosenko, self-employed, from Kyiv (see photo) spends the party, logged by Valeriia Semeniuk.
With today’s newsletter we say goodbye to the Christmas break. The next issue will be available on January 2, 2023.
I am very glad that this year, for the first time, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, to which I belong, has given us the choice of when to celebrate Christmas: according to the Orthodox tradition on January 7th or together with the Catholics on December 25th. There will be two memorial services. However, I choose the second option. Firstly, because I don’t want to celebrate with Russia. And secondly, Christmas on January 7 has always been overshadowed by the New Year
That’s why we’re already waiting for the holiday. Unfortunately, there will be no traditional night service in the churches this year due to a curfew in Ukraine and staying in public places after 11 p.m. is prohibited. But we will go to church on the morning of December 25th. And on the evening of the 24th we will celebrate together with our friends at a festive table.
There will be twelve judgments on the table, equal to the number of the apostles. At first my wife and I were concerned: What if there is no electricity again? How should we warm up the dishes and bring them warm to the table? But we calmed down quickly: Nobody asks us to set the table perfectly in times of war. After all, it is much more difficult for the Ukrainian soldiers in the trenches, they will probably have little of what is on our table.
The main thing is our mood, our prayer, our belief in the Christmas miracle. Our daughter will also be sitting at the table virtually. She is studying in Switzerland and will definitely get in touch via Skype. Together we will pray for peace.
The most important news of the day:
- An opposition politician from St. Petersburg has sued Russian President Vladimir Putin for discrediting the army – for using the word “war” for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. You’ll find more about it here.
- The trip of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was organized within a few days. The Washington Post has now traced how this came about. You can read the background here.
- After months of research into the massacre in Bucha, the New York Times raises serious allegations against a unit of the Russian army. Accordingly, paratroopers from the 234th Airborne Division are said to have been responsible for the deaths of dozens of civilians on Jablunska Street in the western Ukrainian city. Read more here.
- After the unmasking of a suspected Russian for Russia at the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) have called on politicians to be vigilant. “If the suspicion is confirmed, an important blow against Russian espionage has been struck here,” wrote FDP politician Marco Buschmann on Twitter. More here.
- The Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk has again called on the federal government to supply Kyiv with battle tanks and armored personnel carriers. He would like Chancellor Olaf Scholz to “finally reconsider the restraint, for example, with the Leopard battle tank and the Marder infantry fighting vehicle.”, he said. More in our news blog.
- Lithuania is training 16 Ukrainian mechanics to repair German howitzers. The group left again after about two weeks of training in howitzer repairs in Lithuania. They had already learned the theoretical knowledge elsewhere, explained Zilvinas Cerskus, a major in the Lithuanian army.
- In the southern Russian region of Saratov, a fire broke out as a result of a suspected arson attack in a district military replacement office. The fire brigade managed to extinguish the flames before they could spread to neighboring apartments, the regional news portal Vsglyad-Info reported.
- After constant Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine, the local railway receives support from Deutsche Bahn. The first 63 generators to generate electricity for maintenance workshops and stations of the Ukrainian state railway were loaded in Hanover, the railway said.
- After his trip to the United States, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has returned to his official residence in the capital, Kyiv. The 44-year-old reported via video from his desk in the morning with a smile and a clenched fist: “We are working for victory. Have a good day everyone!”
- Plans to increase the size of the Russian army are likely represent a major challenge according to British military experts. “It remains unclear how Russia will find the recruits to achieve such an increase,” reads the daily intelligence update.
- According to the US government, tens of thousands of mercenaries from the Russian “Wagner” combat group are stationed in Ukraine. It is estimated that 50,000 mercenaries are currently deployed in Ukraine, including 40,000 convicts, said White House Communications Director John Kirby.
- According to a media report, the US Department of Defense is considering training Ukrainian soldiers on the Patriot anti-aircraft system at a military base in the United States. This was reported by the Politico website, citing two Pentagon officials.
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