Petro and Maryna Poroshenko congratulated everyone on Christmas: Ukrainians are and will be on their land
Petro and Maryna Poroshenko congratulated everyone on Christmas.
“Holy evening. Christmas in a country that has been at war for too long. The fourth year of a 12-year war. And yet this evening we gather together again, some in person, and some in thoughts, in prayers. And in such moments, words are not easy to come by, because there are too many losses – people, homes, ordinary life, too much silence where there were voices yesterday. And too many empty seats at the table, which hurt especially today. This Christmas is not about peace. But it is about the warmth that we know how to preserve even when it is dark around us. About endurance, which is not always visible, but which holds this country together every day. And yet we are here, on our land, not by chance,” the fifth President said in a video address.
“Because there is something stronger than fear – love for those who are close to us, and responsibility for those who will come after us. A warrior celebrates Christmas in a trench. Under the sky, where instead of a Christmas star there are flashes of war. He keeps this night not for himself. He keeps it for those who have to live, grow, fall in love, and build a future in a free country at home,” Poroshenko said.
“And next to him, there is another, no less important work. Someone teaches children how to hide, trying to give them back at least a piece of childhood. Someone weaves camouflage nets to the hum of a generator and sings to support each other. And someone returns light and warmth to homes, knowing that someone will fall asleep with light today thanks to his work. Someone trains by the light of lanterns so that one day we can raise the Ukrainian flag and so that we can rejoice in simple victories again. And this is definitely not heroism for show. This is a quiet, daily labor of love,” he is convinced.
“I am often asked, what to hold on to when everything that previously provided support is lost? So how to live on when the pain does not go away, and the future seems fragile and uncertain? My answer is simple and at the same time very human: keep your heart open. Because only an open heart can let in a miracle,” the fifth President is convinced.
“A miracle is not like a fairy tale or a promise of an easy life, but like an opportunity to live on, love, take care of each other, find the strength to smile at a child, support a neighbor, say a warm word when it is needed most. It is a miracle not to break down where we were given a few days. It is a miracle to remain human and preserve the light in each other even during the war,” added Maryna Poroshenko.
“On this day, Ukrainian defenders pray for victory over the enemy and for the future of our country. “In general, people who are there, on the front line, in the zone of combat operations, are always held by faith. Faith in something beautiful, something good, something good. Everyone hides something of their own under this phrase, but for many it is, for example, a photo of a child, a photo of a family, a video where a child takes his first steps,” said war veteran Oleksiy Petrov.
“Family, family, children. Children are very motivating,” noted military man Stanislav Krashchenko.
“We think about returning home, about peace, about life after the war, when we meet. We will meet after the war and we will have the opportunity to remember everything that happened between us. We joke, we remember humorous moments in the behavior of each of us. I wanted peace to be in Ukraine. For the guys to return home. Now I have such a circumstance that the wife of my brother, who died on August 20, will give birth to a child. This will be his third child. I would like these children to never see war again,” emphasized military man Stepan Barna.
“I will say that the only hope is in God. Because with each passing year, unfortunately, neither the state nor the authorities give us hope. The only thing a soldier in a trench on the contact line can hope for is the Lord God, who will preserve and protect him. And we have seen more than one such case. When it seemed that there, in the most hopeless situation, when everything around said that you would not survive and would not get out, hope in God saved people,” said soldier Oleksandr Pogrebysky.
“Christmas is not only about light. Christmas is about birth. And every birth comes through pain, but always with hope. Through fear and loss. Through the moment when it seems that nothing more can be done. And yet this is how life begins. Today, Ukraine is being reborn. In fire, in resistance. And in the heavy responsibility for its future. This birth is certainly not quiet and not easy. But it has great strength and great love for life,” Poroshenko says.
“We still don’t see everything that lies ahead. But we already feel it. Ahead is life. Great, worthy, happy. Because it is suffered and won together,” says Maryna Poroshenko.
“We will walk this path. With faith that has not been broken. Because a country that is born in pain especially values life and definitely knows how to protect each other. Please, call your loved ones today. Hug those who are close to you. And say what you have long postponed. We are and we will be on our land. Let a miracle into your heart. Quiet, warm, real. Christ is born! Let us praise Him,” Petro Poroshenko concluded.
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