in Ukraine, a soldier on leave celebrates Christmas away from the front

In Ukraine, the population is preparing for the holidays, for Christmas celebrated this year according to the Gregorian calendar, on December 25, and no longer according to the Orthodox calendar. But with the failure of the counter-offensive, the time is far from celebrations as Volodymir Zelensky has begun to prepare the population for a mobilization of 450 000 to 500 000 additional men.

In St. Michael’s Church in kyiv, Yuri knelt. In the darkness, the glow of the candles barely outlines his silhouette, his khaki outfit, his military fleece. This Christmas is the second in the war for Ukrainians. And when Yuri is asked why he prays, the soldier’s eyes freeze : “I pray for everyone’s health and that this ends as quickly as possible.” We ask Yuri where he comes from : the eastern front, the hardest.

“We didn’t want this war”

In Ukraine, everyone respects these men who everyone now knows lack everything. We are saving ammunition in the face of Russian firepower. We are holding on to our positions hoping for a boost in international aid which does not come. We grit our teeth when we hear in the press the increasingly sensitive tensions between Volodymir Zelensky and the very popular chief of staff, Valery Zalouzhny.

At the front, like Yuri, the men expect more mobilization. To be lifted up, to be able to breathe and above all not to let yourself be overcome by fatigue and disillusionment: “War is very hard everywhere, but we weren’t looking for it. We are attacked by an aggressor. That’s why we are obliged to defend ourselves. Otherwise they will invade us and we will be nothing more than waste to them . We didn’t want this war!” Yuri gives a tired smile, he is exhausted. Just a few days of leave. Then we will have to return to the front.