Ukraine: the heart is not at the party before New Year's Eve
A Christmas tree in front of an Orthodox church on December 24, 2022 in kyiv, Ukraine.
REUTERS - VALENTYN OGIRENKO
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Millions of Ukrainians are preparing to spend a New Year's Eve in a country at war.
In the cities regularly targeted by Russian strikes, the atmosphere is more heavy than festive.
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With the repeated power cuts, the inhabitants of Lviv do not really have the heart to celebrate, says Andrii who came to seek an Internet connection in a cafe in this western city,
where the energy infrastructures are regularly bombarded
.
"
When we work in the cafes, we hear a lot of Christmas music and it puts us in the mood a bit, but from what I see, for the people around me, the end of the year celebrations are not the main concern
, ”he testifies, at the microphone of
Anastasia Becchio
, special correspondent for the international service of RFI.
dark atmosphere
In the capital, the Christmas tree is powered by a diesel generator.
"
We won't let the Russians rob us of our children's biggest holidays, New Year's and Christmas,
"
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko
said .
The atmosphere is still not as festive as last year, says Nadia Koval: “
Kiev was really decorated in winter during the holidays, this is no longer the case now.
The spirit in the city is quite dark and not so festive
”.
►
To read also:
Ukrainians celebrate Christmas on December 25 to escape Russian religious influence
According to Orthodox tradition, a majority of Ukrainians celebrate Christmas on January 7, but polls show a growing number of people preferring to move the date forward to December 25 to be closer to Western Christians.
United Poland
In Poland, out of solidarity for its neighbour, many municipalities have given up offering fireworks, reports
Martin Chabal
, RFI correspondent in Warsaw.
Symbol of celebration and good humor, the municipality nevertheless prefers to do without fireworks this year, for fear that the sound of the explosions will bring back bad memories to the 100,000 Ukrainian refugees who live in the Polish capital.
2022 has been extremely difficult and the town hall considers that it would be inappropriate to organize a party while the war continues a few kilometers away.
The conflict has also pushed all of Poland to have to save money and pyrotechnic shows have been canceled in many large cities which avoid spending too much money in this complicated period for many municipalities.
► To read also:
Faced with the war in Ukraine, Poland is spending record sums to renew its defense
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