For the fourth consecutive year, Russia weaponises Christmas

For the last three years, Christmas in Ukraine has not meant carols, parades or famous puppet shows. Patrick Drennan reports.

Snowfall and temperatures are expected to be between -2 degrees and 2 degrees Celsius for Christmas Day in Ukraine. This means that neither the Russian nor the Ukrainian army will be able to advance on the battlefield, thus intensifying Russia’s widespread attacks on towns and cities.

Russian missile and drone attacks will target railway hubs, oil refineries and electricity transmitters. Most of the time it will target residential areas. All to break the will of the Ukrainian people. National energy company Ukrenergo has announced that Ukraine may face rolling blackouts throughout the winter.

How will Ukrainians deal with this?

Christmas in Ukraine is a family affair, starting with Mass on Christmas Eve and a 12-course meatless meal (representing the apostles) on Christmas Day. For the last three years, neither songs, ceremonies, nor the famous vertep puppet shows have been held. A cultural Christmas tree was erected on Sofia Square in Kiev for short meetings. Thousands of toys will be placed around the 16-meter tree.

Decoration works were carried out in some metro stations used as bomb shelters. Choral groups perform underground. In basements across the country, candles are lit, food is eaten, and traditional songs such as Heaven and Earth Today Rejoice are sung. Electricity is limited (about four hours a day), but people cook and keep warm on wood stoves.

Tenby Powell Kiwi Aid and Refugee Evacuation (SQUARE) has been delivering portable stoves and refurbished ambulances to war-torn Ukraine for the past three years. It is currently located in the Kherson and Donetsk regions. It’s a dangerous situation, as the Russian military has recently attacked clearly marked civilian ambulances.

Powell notes:

‘In frontline cities, grandmothers live in windowless apartments, paste cardboard over holes to ward off the winter cold, and bake bread on camp stoves. In the basements of Donetsk, young people who have never known peace study for university exams by the light of headlights as artillery approaches every week.’

On the front lines, the job of Ukrainian troops, who are overwhelmed by the large number of Russian soldiers and mercenaries, becomes even more difficult. Stories of Ukrainian soldiers going on leave to Europe and not returning are more common. Interestingly, the Ukrainian army does not imprison them if they return later; There is a shortage of reserve personnel of military age. Some young Ukrainians are fleeing to Europe. Yet many war-weary veterans continue to fight.

Powell observes sharply:

‘Soldiers are walking out of Donbas with frozen feet and they’re still cracking jokes dark enough to make medics laugh. Medics often stitch wounds with flickering generators and sing lullabies to the injured to stop the screaming.’

Irregular military support from Europe and the USA is also wearing them down.

Powell’s statement is as follows:

‘Ukrainians once hoped Republicans had a hawkish anti-Russian resolve, but now they see the current administration as aligned with Russia.’

The USA proposed a 28-article peace plan for the war, which exactly copies Russia’s 2022 Istanbul demands. After some negotiations with Ukraine, this score was reduced to 19 points.

America allegedly threatened to withdraw its weapons and military intelligence if Ukraine did not sign an agreement by November 26 (Thanksgiving in America).

Ukraine was conciliatory but rightfully refused to cede territory that Russia had not conquered. They have agreed not to join NATO but want concrete security guarantees in case Russia continues attacks.

The Thanksgiving deadline came and went and no agreement was reached.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin He met with America’s special envoy Steve Witkoff In Moscow on December 2. No agreement was reached and no leaders’ meetings were planned before Christmas.

Russia’s reaction was largely negative. Russia’s maximalist goals have not changed. President Putin cannot accept a ceasefire on existing fronts for three reasons: First, it cannot justify one million deaths to date without significant gains. Secondly, he will not meet with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Because he had repeatedly told the Russian people that Zelensky was “illegitimate.” Finally, without control of all of Donetsk, the bastion of Ukrainian defense, he cannot realize his long-term plans to take over Ukraine in its entirety.

So the brutal war continues.

Russia launched 48 missiles and 442 unmanned aerial vehicles into Ukraine on November 19. In the attack on two apartment buildings in the city of Ternopil, 35 civilians died and 93 people, including 18 children, were injured.

On the first day of winter, Russia launched a ballistic missile attack on Dnipro, killing four people and hospitalizing 40 people.

Survivor Oksana said:

‘We have an injured girl, her head and arm are broken. We live, we will dig and we will continue to try to do something. Everybody should help each other, not stop, fight.’

Overall, Russia’s daily attacks on civilians resulted in the deaths of 3,018 children; 733 of them died and 2,285 were injured. According to the NGO, Save the Children43 percent of children in the regions of Ukraine where they operate show symptoms of anxiety, fear, moodiness and irritability. These children develop speech defects, uncontrollable twitching, terrible nightmares and screams during sleep.

If you want to send money or Christmas gifts to Ukrainian children, you can do so at: Ukraine Support Fund Australia or UNICEF USA.