Dozens of rockets, such as the one that killed 16 and injured 72 in Kherson, hit the unprecedented joint celebration of Catholics and Orthodox
While millions of families were swept up in the magic of Christmas in much of the world surrounded by light, joy and gathered around a large table, Ukraine celebrated the date in darkness and restlessness. Plunged into a bloody war started ten months ago by Russia, which did not even spare the holidays to call a truce. Quite the opposite. The unusual celebration in which for the first time the majority of the Orthodox Church agreed to join Catholics in commemorating the birth of Jesus on December 25, apart from the traditional January 7, was destroyed by a hail of bombs.
From the hours before Christmas Eve, the Kremlin showed its most bloodthirsty side. It did so in Kherson, where 74 Russian rockets and missiles shattered residents’ few illusions by killing 16 people and injuring 72 others. The attack, described by Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky as an “act of terror”, destroyed critical infrastructure facilities, private buildings, a hospital and a school. A blow to the heart of a city that retook Kiev in November, in the middle of a successful counter-offensive after eight months of occupation.
The Kherson bombings were just a prelude to the wave of attacks that Moscow launched throughout the night and early morning in regions such as Sumy, Kharkiv and Zaporizhia and Mykolaiv. The deafening sound of the bombs in the middle of Christmas added to the bloody clashes that Russian and Ukrainian troops are now waging in the east and the raids of Iranian bombing drones that have devastated the country’s energy infrastructure to destroy it in the dark and without leaving safety. heating in the dead of winter.
It is precisely the harshness of this ten months of war that has torn families apart and left thousands dead and many others, that has prompted the Orthodox Church to allow its faithful to commemorate December 25 in order to get closer to the tradition of their Catholic compatriots and from most Western countries, which follow the Gregorian calendar. However, the celebration will be extra; as it will not replace January 7, the date on which approximately 80% of the Ukrainian population will celebrate Christmas again.
Despite these being Ukraine’s toughest parties in decades, Zelensky sent a message of hope to his battered people. “No kamikaze plane is able to extinguish the Christmas aurora. We will see its glow even underground in a bomb shelter. We will fill our hearts with warmth and light,” he said, praising the “steel spirit” of a people that still does not see an end to the conflict in the medium term.
“We will restore freedom to all Ukrainian men and women,” the head of state promised. For this reason, he encouraged citizens to celebrate this holiday season “as always”, “sing Christmas carols louder than the sound of a generator” or congratulate relatives “even if communications and internet services are down”. Mandate said he was convinced that after so much “bitter news” it was time to receive “good news”.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal expressed a similar expression when he congratulated his compatriots on the holiday. “War has separated many of us… But despite all the bombing and terrorist attacks, we will persevere. Neither the cold nor the hunger nor the darkness will despair us,” he stressed.
To end the war as soon as possible and to regain the territories conquered by Vladimir Putin’s troops, Kiev has demanded more military aid from the West. That request has already resulted in the US decision to provide the Patriot air defense system, as well as a new $45,000 million aid package that will add to EU and NATO countries’ aid to make Christmas shine again in Ukraine .
In stark contrast to the offensive his troops have been waging in Ukraine in recent hours, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to be in favor of peace and once again showed the Kiev authorities that he was ready to talk. This was announced through an interview of which a fragment was released on state television. The head of the Kremlin again denounced the position of the government of Volodimir Zelensky and his Western allies, which he said “reject negotiations”. Instead, he said he was “ready to negotiate with all participants in this process to find acceptable solutions”.
Putin also once again justified the invasion of Ukraine. “Our goal is to unite the Russian people,” said the president, who often refers to the concept of “historic Russia” to claim that Ukrainians and Russians are one people that their “geopolitical opponents” are trying to “divide.”
The message from the Kremlin chief was promptly answered by Kiev. The chief adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, Mikhailo Podoliak, denied that Putin is interested in negotiations as it shows that he continues to “murder civilians” and that they are merely trying to “shirk their responsibilities”. Putin needs to get back to reality. We will see each other in court,” he warned.
“I am going to remind those who propose taking Putin’s ‘peace’ initiatives into account that Russia is currently ‘negotiating’, killing the people of Kherson, destroying Bakhmut, destroying the networks of Kiev and Odessa, torturing civilians in Melitopol Russia wants to kill with impunity,” Zelensky’s top adviser wrote on Twitter. “Killing women, children and the elderly on Christmas Eve! That’s what Russian ‘peace’ is,” he denounced.
Zelensky refuses to negotiate with Moscow “as long as Putin is president”. It also demands the return of the four Ukrainian regions annexed by Moscow at the end of September – Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhia, Kherson – as well as the Crimean peninsula.
Source: La Verdad
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