Dette innlegget er også tilgjengelig i:

Christmas is almost here. With Christmas comes children’s hope and joy. In Ukraine, children live under constant fear. The holiday season is also a time for reflection, love, and understanding. This is the fourth Christmas that children in Ukraine are experiencing a brutal war. Perhaps their dreams are not primarily about what Christmas presents they will receive? Most children in Ukraine wish for peace. To be able to play safely outside, to go to school in safe surroundings, and to go to bed safely at night. All of this would have been possible if Russia’s dictator Vladimir Putin had wished it.

Fear as a Weapon

Putin’s war is not going as he wished. Ukraine has made progress on the battlefield over the past year. Like every other winter for the past 4 years, Putin’s Christmas greeting to Ukrainian children is to try to freeze them into submission. His strategy is to bomb civilian targets, wounding and killing civilians, whether children or adults. Examples include the bombing of a queue of people who were waiting in line for food. In the midst of this dictator’s fight for his own imperialism are innocent people. Small children, teenagers, the elderly, women, and men.

When Putin’s only chance for victory in the war is the killing of these people, he stops at nothing. The price of taking all of Ukraine is obvious. Ukraine must be taken at any cost. Vladimir Putin’s own idiotic prestige project cannot be won on the battlefield. Then, a slaughter of Ukrainian people, language, and culture is the only way out. He is, of course, willing to do anything. Over a million people have been killed so far in this selfish Russian war.

The Contrasts with the Rest of Europe

In Ukraine, as in all other countries in Europe, Christmas and New Year are a special time. But the contrasts in recent years are clear. While people in Ukraine hope for a Christmas with electricity and warmth, the rest of us hope for a Christmas and New Year with gifts and good food. In Ukraine, children live in fear. Their greatest wish is not a doll, a toy car, or video games. It is peace, warmth, and safety.

It is time to end a war Russia cannot win. To accept that Ukraine is an independent country that makes its own decisions. The children in Ukraine want peace and safety. The wives want safety for their children and their husbands at the front. The elderly look back to a time when the Russians were their siblings. Sibling love is clearly not mutual.

Sources:

Wikipedia: Russo-Ukrainian war

The Ukrainian Review: When is Christmas in Ukraine: new traditions and official dates of celebration