How Ukrainians are doing Christmas differently this year

Published

2 years ago

December 25, 2022

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Combat medic Myroslav Mardarevych is hunched over a desk in the foyer of St Sophia Cathedral in central Kyiv.

He has just come from the frontline and is furiously writing down names on small pieces of paper. These slips are prayer submissions for the church and Myroslav has filled out three of them with names.

The list of people he knows who have died is longer than those still alive.

“I wrote for the safety and health of my friends, relatives, fighters of the Ukrainian army and all Ukrainians,” he says. “On this holy Christmas day, God protect Ukraine and give us strength and resolve for victory.”

Ukrainians are celebrating their first Christmas since Russia‘s invasion in February.

In a historic move, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has given parishes across the country the choice to mark 25 December with the rest of the Christian world, a break from the eastern Orthodox tradition to celebrate on 7 January.

“For some it is the possibility to celebrate with the whole world. For some it is the possibility to celebrate away from Russia,” says St Sophia’s priest, Father Georgii Kovalenko.

“Christmas has a very literal meaning for Ukrainians today. The holy family didn’t find a place to stay – they were homeless. The same as Ukranians that lost their homes, the holy family and Christ were refugees.”

Halfway through Father Georgii’s sermon, the air raid sirens went off. Instead of Christmas bells, the loud horn and instructions to take shelter were loud and clear.

But instead of rushing to a shelter, the service continued as more arrived.

The room filled with people deep in prayer, reminded in their worship that their country is still at war – a conflict that Pope Francis called “senseless” in his 2022 Christmas address to the world.

A ‘bitter taste’ at Christmas dinner

In a sombre speech on Christmas Eve, President Zelensky stood in his trademark military green.

“Unfortunately, this year all holidays have a bitter taste for us and we can feel the traditional spirit of Christmas differently,” he said.

“Dinner at the family table may not be so tasty and warm. There may be empty chairs around it and our homes and streets may not be so bright.

“Wherever we are we will be together today. And together we will look into the evening sky and together we will remember the morning of 24 February. We will remember how far we have come.”

While millions of Ukrainians remain separated from their loved ones, some families have managed to come together.

Parliamentarian and human rights defender Lesia Vasalenko is back with her young children for Christmas.

Her work made her vulnerable to assassination, and she sent her family to the UK out of fear for their safety.

Suffering from bouts of homesickness, she has brought her three children home to celebrate with family in Korostyshiv.

They are seeing their grandparents for the first time since the early days of the war.

“Each one of them needs their mother in one way or another. It’s leaving scars which will become apparent in years to come,” says Lesia.

“This fatigue is what Russia is good at playing at. And we have no right – no moral right – in Ukraine or anywhere else to get tired of this.”

World

UN’s Antonio Guterres condemns ‘teaspoon’ of aid allowed into Gaza after dozens die in airstrikes

Published

4 hours ago

May 24, 2025

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UN's Antonio Guterres condemns 'teaspoon' of aid allowed into Gaza after dozens die in airstrikes

The head of the UN has said Israel has only authorised for Gaza what amounts to a “teaspoon” of aid after at least 60 people died in overnight airstrikes.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said on Friday the supplies approved so far “amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required,” adding “the needs are massive and the obstacles are staggering”.

He warned that more people will die unless there is “rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access”.

Israel says around 300 aid trucks have been allowed through since it lifted an 11-week blockade on Monday, but according to Mr Guterres, only about a third have been transported to warehouses within Gaza due to insecurity.

The IDF said 107 vehicles carrying flour, food, medical equipment and drugs were allowed through on Thursday.

Many of Gaza’s two million residents are at high risk of famine, experts have warned.

Meanwhile, at least 60 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight.

Ten people died in the southern city of Khan Younis, and deaths were also reported in the central town of Deir al-Balah and the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to the Nasser, Al-Aqsa and Al-Ahli hospitals where the bodies were brought.

The latest strikes came a day after two Israeli embassy workers were killed in Washington.

The suspect, named as 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, Illinois, told police he “did it for Gaza”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney of fuelling antisemitism following the shootings.

The leaders of the UK, France and Canada are “on the wrong side of humanity and (…) history”, he said, after they threatened “concrete action” against Israel this week if it continues its “egregious” military operations in Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu also accused Sir Keir, Mr Macron and Mr Carney of siding with “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers”.

But UK government minister Luke Pollard told Sky News on Friday morning he “doesn’t recognise” Mr Netanyahu’s accusation.

Earlier this week, Mr Netanyahu said he was recalling negotiators from the Qatari capital, Doha, after a week of ceasefire talks failed to bring results. A working team will remain.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251 others.

The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

World

’12 people’ injured in stabbing at Hamburg train station – as woman arrested

Published

7 hours ago

May 23, 2025

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'12 people' injured in stabbing at Hamburg train station - as woman arrested

A woman has been arrested after 12 people were reportedly injured in a stabbing at Hamburg’s central train station in Germany.

An attacker armed with a knife targeted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14, according to police.

They added that the suspect was a 39-year-old woman.

Officers said they “believe she acted alone” and investigations into the stabbing are continuing.

There was no immediate information on a possible motive.

The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.

The attack happened shortly after 6pm local time (5pm UK time) on Friday in front of a waiting train, regional public broadcaster NDR reported.

A high-speed ICE train with its doors open could be seen at the platform after the incident.

Railway operator Deutsche Bahn said it was “deeply shocked” by what had happened.

Four tracks at the station were closed in the evening, and some long-distance trains were delayed or diverted.

Hamburg is Germany‘s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.

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Mum of emaciated baby in Gaza says ‘I lost my husband… I don’t want to lose her’

Published

10 hours ago

May 23, 2025

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Mum of emaciated baby in Gaza says 'I lost my husband... I don't want to lose her'

In mid-May, the World Health Organisation assessed that there were “nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death”.

“This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,” its report concluded.

Warning: This article contains images of an emaciated child which some readers may find distressing

Israel‘s decision this week to reverse the siege and allow “a basic level of aid” into Gaza should help ease the immediate crisis.

But the number of aid trucks getting in, so far fewer than 100 per day, is considered dramatically too few by aid organisations working in Gaza, and the United Nations accuses Israel of continuing to block vital items.

Israel-Gaza latest: Gaza enduring ‘atrocious death and destruction’, UN boss warns

“Strict quotas are being imposed on the goods we distribute, along with unnecessary delay procedures,” said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in New York on Friday.

“Essentials, including fuel, shelter, cooking gas and water purification supplies, are prohibited. Nothing has reached the besieged north.”

Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies.

“Today, we receive between 300 to 500 cases daily, with approximately 10% requiring admission. This volume of inpatient cases far exceeds the capacity of Rantisi hospital, as the facility is not equipped to accommodate such large numbers,” Jall al Barawi, a doctor at the hospital, told us.

At least 94% of the hospitals have sustained some damage, some considerable, according to the UN.

Paramedic crews are close to running out of fuel to drive ambulances.

The lack of food, after an 11-week blockade, has left thousands malnourished and increasingly vulnerable to surviving injuries or recovering from other conditions.

Children are the worst affected.

Our team in Gaza filmed with baby Aya at the Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza. She is now three months old and dangerously thin.

Her skin stretches over her cheekbones and eye sockets on her gaunt, pale face. Her nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.

Lethal spiral

Her mother Sundush, who is only 19 herself, cannot get enough food to produce breastmilk. Baby formula is scarce.

Aya, like so many other young children, cannot get the vital nutrition she needs to grow and develop.

It’s a lethal spiral.

“My daughter was born at a normal weight, 3.5kg,” Sundush tells us.

“But as the war went on, her weight dropped significantly. I would breastfeed her, she’d get diarrhoea. I tried formula – same result. With the borders closed and no food coming in, I can’t eat enough to give her the nutrients she needs.”

“I brought her to the hospital for treatment, but the care she needs isn’t available.

“The doctor said her condition is very serious. I really don’t want to lose her, because I lost my husband and she’s all I have left of him. I don’t want to lose her.”

Some of the aid entering Gaza now is being looted. It is hard to know whether that is by Hamas or desperate civilians. Maybe a combination of the two.

The lack of aid creates an atmosphere of desperation, which eventually leads to a breakdown in security as everyone fights to secure food for themselves and their families.

Only by alleviating the desperation can the security situation improve, and the risk of famine abate.