A Ukrainian Grinch gives his Christmas message

We’ve been calling Ross our company grinch recently, so we allowed him some space to explain why he hates Christmas this year. Myroslava, who loves the Christmas season, provides her rebuttal.

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Here’s Ross, to start us off: 

I hate the Christmas music playing in the shops this year. 

It drives me mad. It feels surreal that there can be these festive sounds. They don’t match the reality of the world around us. When I see people in the street, all I see are faces that are  hollow, burnt out and exhausted. Living life on autopilot.

I don’t know what sort of music would be more appropriate.

A Christmas tree made of used shell cases collected by the military on the front line, presented in Kyiv. (Photo by Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

It is the second time Ukraine will celebrate Christmas on December 25th. The Ukrainian church switched to a new calendar, to segregate us from Russian Orthodox traditions, which celebrates Christmas on January 7th. 

And it's the second Christmas that Ukraine will spend at war.

People have a limit to how much they can take. The Ukrainian people have shown some extraordinary levels of resilience, and with the help of Western allies we were able to initially fight back, and at some point even take the initiative from our enemy. 

Even for this task we have already paid with a lot of blood. So we had people of the country, and allies, that with the combined effort were able to buy us some time. But support from allies can’t be infinite, and neither can we expect an endless supply of volunteers for the frontlines. Today we have a shortage of both. 

And today a fair question arises in society: what was the government doing with the time that was gained with such a price? 

Protesters gather outside the Kyiv city council building to demonstrate for more military funding in next year’s budget.

Let’s look at the recent meetings of the Kyiv city council, where politicians were setting next year’s budget. Of the billions of Ukrainian currency budgeted to be spent in 2024, less than one percent is dedicated for the military or the defense sector. 

People are starting to question whether the country is still unified against the war. The public is, in turn, questioning their own motivation, and what they are fighting for. And they are questioning our politicians and whether they’re truly dedicated to victory. 

Tens of thousands of people have been affected by the war: families separated, loved ones lost to violence. Many thousands more have had sons and fathers imprisoned by the Russians in prisoner of war camps for almost two years. 

And, as we near the two year mark of this war, politicians say that my friends on the frontlines do not need more drones or evacuation vehicles. Instead, they spend billions spent on fixing fountains and roads, the restoration of governmental cafeterias and new cars for civil servants. 

A memorial to local men killed since the invasion began last year, in a small town in the Donbas, eastern Ukraine. We spotted it while reporting our latest story.

There can be no Christmas mood when you think about your friends who are long gone. 

They are gone because they could not stand injustice. They are gone because they could not stand corruption. They volunteered to sacrifice their lives for their country. 

They are the best of us, and they’re no longer here to listen to Christmas carols.

Myroslava’s rebuttal to Ross’ more pessimistic view of the holidays is after the paywall, as is the Ukraine news that caught our attention today. If you’re not a paid subscriber, please upgrade to get our full newsletter!

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