The Press in Ukraine | A third Christmas under the bombs

(Kyiv) Passers-by, arms loaded with gifts, crowd around Khreschatyk Avenue. At its corner, the windows of the Tsum shopping center, one of the largest shopping centers in the city, flood the families who crowd there with light. Past the central arteries of the capital, laden with large garlands, the streets, without lights or decorations, plunge their inhabitants back into the deepest darkness. Ukrainians are preparing to celebrate their third Christmas since the start of the war.

Faces are calm, and everyone, despite the daily power cuts, is rejoicing at the first snowflakes which, in two nights, have draped the capital in its white coat.

There is a smell of mulled wine and fried foods mixed with the pungent smell of diesel used to power the generators, which, during power outages, allow the city to continue to live.

“The war has been going on for 10 years. Should we wait until we are at peace before we can rejoice? », insists Vladyslav Blazchuk.

At 30, Vladyslav wears a steel prosthesis. Wounded in 2023 on the Zaporizhia front, his left leg was amputated. After months of rehabilitation in the Super Human center, an independent organization that tests and creates new generation prostheses, he now presents, as a volunteer, the center's kiosk which gave him a new taste for life.

Further on, everyone is offered the opportunity to write a letter of thanks to the soldiers engaged on the front line.

Sitting on a chair too big for her, Veronika, 8 years old, applies herself to writing her letter. Originally from Lviv, Veronika and her mother, Katerina Denysenko, plan to return to their family to celebrate the holidays. “We will then go from house to house to sing Christmas carols. This year, all the money raised will go to our soldiers. »

Celebrate Christmas despite power cuts

For three years, Ukrainians have known it: the Kremlin, as the cold weather approaches, is intensifying its bombing campaigns against the country's energy infrastructure.

The goal is twofold. On the one hand, weaken Ukrainian industry in its war effort, on the other, demoralize the population and force them to leave the country.

Faced with power cuts, Vladyslav remains unmoved. He plans to celebrate Christmas with his friends in the small ceramics workshop he opened after his convalescence. “We put a tree and garlands there,” he says.

In three years of war, the population has adapted to a new reality. People organize their day using different mobile applications, websites or Telegram groups which announce upcoming cuts.

“We are so used to it and organized that, when we have no electricity at home, we go out,” says Katerina with a smile. “As soon as the electricity comes back, we go home to warm up. We plan everything, including meal preparation, based on the electrical calendar. »

Revive old traditions and help the army

But above all, Katerina is delighted this year to be able to resurrect certain Ukrainian traditions erased by 500 years of Russian occupation. “We will prepare the 12 Christmas dishes as our ancestors did before us and celebrate Christmas on December 24, and not January 7, as the Moscow Patriarchate imposed on us. »

This is also what the twenty or so students from the “Ukrainian students” association at Kyiv-Mohyla University are trying to do.

“Since the start of the large-scale war, we have been rediscovering our ancient traditions,” explains Alla Barsoukova, 27, a final year student.

In one of the university's basements, dozens of people gathered to dance to the sound of the fife and the violin. Almost everyone came in traditional clothes of all colors.

“Today we celebrate Verchoneste, an ancient pagan festival of the winter cycle which, over the years, has gradually been supplanted by Christmas. »

Maria Schwab, her friend, explains that, for her, celebrating Christmas is above all about rediscovering her roots. “We have been so Russified that we forgot who we were. »

Around them, the most experienced dancers, their faces bathed in sweat, throw themselves into the middle of an improvised farandole. The event has a dual purpose: to introduce everyone to their old Christmas traditions and to raise money for the military.

This is also what Roman*, 20 years old, a young seminarian from the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, is trying to do who, after mass, sells cartridge cases and shells that he and his friends have decorated. “With the profits, we want to buy drones for the seminarians of our school who enlisted as simple soldiers. »

Next to them, Archimandrite (religious title in the Orthodox Church) Lavrentiy, who has just finished the service, hands them a small note. “Today, the best gift is our common participation in our own defense. We must remember that Christmas is above all a celebration of hope. The hope that Christ will soon make his peace reign over us, in Ukraine and throughout the world. »

* Originally from the occupied territories in the Donetsk oblast, Roman preferred not to reveal his identity to protect his family still under occupation.