ReutersUkrainian soldiers on the front line on Christmas Eve
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 14:39
The Ukrainian army said it shot down dozens of Russian drones last night, most of them in the south of the country. There is still a threat during the day: air raid sirens are going off in several places in the country.
Ukrainians were already taking into account that Russia would carry out heavy attacks tonight and today, on Christmas Day. This year is the first time that Ukraine will celebrate Christmas on December 25 and not in January, when Russia celebrates Orthodox Christmas. Last year, the capital Kyiv was hit with a shower of rockets on New Year’s Eve.
The Ukrainian army says it intercepted 28 of 31 drones and two missiles last night in Odesa, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Donetsk, among others. Nothing is known about casualties or damage to buildings and infrastructure. It is also unknown where the unintercepted drones ended up.
The military says it also downed two Russian fighter jets yesterday. Russia has not yet responded.
The air raid siren also goes off in Kharkiv:
President Zelensky signed a law in July that stipulates that the official holiday for Christmas is December 25. “Today all Ukrainians are together,” Zelensky said of the new date in his Christmas speech. “We all celebrate Christmas, on the same day, as one big family, as one united country.”
By moving the holiday, the Ukrainian parliament wanted to “distance itself from Russian heritage” so that Ukrainians can “live their own lives, with their own traditions and holidays.”
Additional soldiers
This week, the army asked Zelensky for half a million additional soldiers. The army says it urgently needs reinforcements in the battle against Russia, which analysts say has reached a stalemate. Zelensky says that the cost of the additional soldiers amounts to 12 billion euros.
In recent weeks, correspondent Kysia Hekster has traveled through Ukraine. She saw how people suffer from the situation, even though there are bright spots:
Around Christmas, Kyiv looks back on 2023: hopeful, but also sad and gloomy
2023-12-25 13:39:34
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