Despite the war, Ukrainian families gather to ring in the New Year

for millions of ukrainiansmany of them under Russian bombardment and struggling with power and water shortages, the celebrations of New Year will be silenced at a time when the war with Russia continues with no end in sight. There were explosions in various parts of Ukraine after a new wave of Russian attacks was reported on Saturday.

SIGHT: The Russian invasion of Ukraine: the 21st century war that marked 2022

But for some families, the New Year is still a chance to come together, even briefly, after months of being apart.

At kyiv’s central train station on Saturday morning, Mykyta, still in his uniform, clutched a bouquet of pink roses as he waited on platform 9 for his wife Valeriia to arrive from Poland. He hadn’t seen her for six months.

“It was actually very difficult, you know, waiting that long,” he told The Associated Press after hugging and kissing Valeriia.

Nearby, another soldier, Vasyl Khomko, 42, happily reunited with his daughter Yana and his wife Galyna, who have been living in Slovakia because of the war but returned to kyiv to spend New Year’s Eve together.

The mood was in stark contrast to that of 10 months ago, when families were torn apart by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In February, fathers, husbands and children were left behind while their wives, mothers and daughters boarded trains with young children seeking safety outside the country. Scenes of the sad separations filled television screens and newspaper front pages around the world.

But on the last day of the year marked by brutal war, many returned to the capital to spend New Year’s Eve with their loved ones, despite continued Russian attacks.

On Saturday several explosions were heard in various parts of the country and anti-aircraft defenses were activated in various regions. One of the explosions in kyiv occurred in a residential area, among multi-storey buildings in the Solomianskyi district. One person died and three were injured, the mayor of the capital, Vitali Klitschko, reported.

With Russia continuing to attack power supplies, leaving millions without power, no large celebrations are anticipated and a curfew will be in place as the clock strikes the New Year. But for most Ukrainians, being with their families is a luxury.

At first Valeriia tried to take refuge from the conflict in Spain, but then she moved to Poland. Asked what her New Year’s Eve plans were, she simply replied, “Just be together.”

The couple declined to give their last name for security reasons, as Mykyta has been fighting on the front lines, both in southern and eastern Ukraine.

On platform 8, another young couple met again. University student Arseniia Kolomiiets, 23, has been living in Italy. Despite longing to see her boyfriend Daniel Liashchenko in kyiv, Kolomiiets feared Russian missile and drone attacks.

“He would tell me: ‘Please come! Please come! Please come!’” he recalled. “I decided that being scared is one part, but being with loved ones at the holidays is the most important part. So I got over my fear and here I am now.”

Although they don’t have electricity at home, Liashchenko said they look forward to welcoming 2023 together with their family and their cat.

In an attempt to ensure that residents have light during the celebrations, the regional government of the Odessa province in southwestern Ukraine plans to limit the work of the most energy-consuming industries on December 31 and January 1.

Regional director Maksym Marchenko made the announcement via Telegram on Friday, saying that electrical engineers in the province had used all possible means to “eliminate the consequences” of the barrage of Russian attacks on Ukraine on Thursday and revive power supply. .

Source: Elcomercio

jack

I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.