Saint Nicholas gifts arrive in Ukraine amid new wave of Russian attacks

Saint Nicholas Day is celebrated this Monday in Ukraine in an effort to create fond memories for children despite the war, while volunteers make it possible for those who have lost their parents or homes to the Russian invasion to receive their gifts.

SIGHT: War in Ukraine: Russian “kamikaze” drones reach kyiv and cause new blackouts

Every year the morning of December 19 is traditionally one of the most exciting for many Ukrainian children.who run to look for their gifts, delivered during the night by Saint Nicholas, under their pillows or under the Christmas tree when they wake up.

In kyiv, as in many other cities in the center and east of the country, this morning however brought a new wave of drone strikes and 23 of them hit energy infrastructure targets, which has made the latest blackouts even more dramatic.

That, however, did not stop Ukrainian adults from organizing the party for the little ones.

In Lviv, a house of Saint Nicholas built in a park welcomed students from a local school on Monday. They were supposed to have gone on Friday, but they couldn’t because of the anti-aircraft alert that day, which lasted several hours.

As the children watched a short play and enjoyed the entertainment, the war played in the background for a while.. The poems recited by the little ones were rather sober and in them they asked Saint Nicholas to bring gifts to those who have lost their loved ones and to protect the soldiers.

They said that they don’t ask for sweets or toys but missiles to prevent those who arrive from the sky from falling on them.

Children do not ask for sweets or toys but missiles to prevent those that arrive from the sky from falling on them. (SERGEY KOZLOV / EFE /)

When Saint Nicholas, a character played by Taras Ivashko, spoke about the importance of trying to be a good person, he mentioned donations to the Ukrainian Army, where relatives of some of the children serve.

His assistant, Dasha, who plays the role of Olaf in the animated film “Frozen Heart,” told EFE that it is important that children still believe in miracles despite what they are experiencing.

He said that the house of Saint Nicholas welcomes many minors who had to flee their homes in Mariupol, Kharkiv and Odesa and now live in Lviv.

“I couldn’t help crying when a girl cried and asked Saint Nicholas to make the war end. Those children, still very young, have matured quickly from what they have had to live through, ”she said.

“We saw a lot of pain and we have to be very careful when I talk to them,” Ivashko told EFE.

The charitable foundation “Popular Rehabilitation” has been working for seven years to offer gifts to children whose parents, mostly fathers, died in combat. The devastation caused by the full-scale Russian invasion means they have had to work hard this year.

Its director, Svitlana Bahvalova, said in an interview that her employees, 17 women who lost their husbands in the war, are the first to contact the families of dead soldiers.

The house of Saint Nicholas welcomes many minors who had to flee their homes in Mariupol, Kharkiv and Odesa and now live in Lviv. (SERGEY KOZLOV / EFE /)

“They know how to be persuasive. Sometimes mothers don’t want anything. But children are children and they have to have vacations, ”she explained in the interview, published by“ Ukrainska Pravda ”.

The children then write their letters to Saint Nicholas and in them they tell him what they would like to receive this year. They usually ask for toys, clothes, bicycles and phones and the organization tries to comply with their wishes.

Some ask if he can bring their parents back to them.

The initiative is possible thanks to the contribution of thousands of Ukrainians, who donate to the volunteers or buy the gifts themselves.

Bahvalova expects the number of letters to reach 2,000 this year as the Russian invasion has killed at least 7,000 civilians and 10,000 soldiers and caused millions of Ukrainians to emigrate inside or outside the country.

Source: Elcomercio