12/24/2023 6:17 pm (current 12/24/2023 6:17 pm)
Zelenskyy sends Christmas greetings: “Evil will be defeated” ©APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER (file image)
On Christmas Eve, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, addressed his compatriots with a Christmas message and encouraged them in the face of the Russian war of aggression that has been going on for almost two years. “In the end, darkness will lose. Evil will be defeated,” Zelensky said in a video message broadcast on Sunday. On holidays, the whole country prays together, he added: “For our freedom. For our victory. For our Ukraine.”
The head of state reminded all families that they will have to celebrate again this year without their husbands, sons and fathers fighting in the army. And he thanked all the Ukrainian soldiers who spend Christmas in the front trenches. “All our warriors of light, the guardian angels of Ukraine. (…) Those who prove that miracles exist. But we must create them ourselves.”
Against the backdrop of the Russian war of aggression, Ukraine has now moved Orthodox Christmas, which was previously celebrated mainly on January 7th, to December 25th. Only the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has long been associated with Moscow, still maintains the old date.