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Lights under fire A glimpse of Ukraine’s Christmas season amid another winter of war
Source: Meduza
For the third year, Ukrainians are celebrating Christmas on December 25, together with the West. Last week, Moscow rejected a Christmas truce and continued its relentless strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and civilian population. After a massive and deadly overnight attack just two days before the holiday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia’s strikes “ahead of Christmas, when people simply want to be with their families, at home and safe,” send “an extremely clear signal about Russia’s priorities.” With the full-scale war now in its fourth year, here’s a glimpse of Christmas preparations in a country still under fire.
Visitors ride an attraction decorated with Ukrainian flags at a Christmas fair held at the Expocenter of Ukraine in Kyiv. December 21, 2025.
Sergei Supinsky / AFP / Scanpix / LETA
People shop for Christmas trees at a street market in front of a building damaged by Russian missile and drone strikes. Kyiv, December 16, 2025.
Gleb Garanich / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA
People eat street food at the Christmas fair at the Expocenter of Ukraine in Kyiv. December 21, 2025.
Sergei Supinsky / AFP / Scanpix / LETA
A Christmas tree stands in a living room damaged by a Russian drone strike. Zaporizhzhia, December 16, 2025.
Ukrinform / NurPhoto / Getty Images
Children wait in the basement of a youth cultural center ahead of a St. Nicholas Day performance in Kharkiv on December 6, 2025. The holiday has grown in popularity since the start of the full-scale war, as volunteers and local officials work to give children moments of normalcy amid constant air raid alerts.
Elise Blanchard / Getty Images
Yevdokym Serdiuk — a veteran of the Russian–Ukrainian war who lost his legs in combat — rides an escalator dressed as Santa Claus at a Kyiv shopping mall on December 12, 2025. Serdiuk served with the 56th Motorized Brigade and now works as a prosthetic walking instructor at the Tytanovi rehabilitation center.
Kyrylo Chubotin / Ukrinform / NurPhoto / Getty Images
People skate at the ice rink at the Expocenter Christmas fair. Kyiv, December 21, 2025.
Sergei Supinsky / AFP / Scanpix / LETA
People stand near a Christmas tree dedicated to Ukraine’s energy workers in downtown Kyiv on December 22, 2025. Made from utility workers’ uniforms, the installation honors those keeping the country’s power grid running amid sustained Russian attacks.
Sergey Dolzhenko / EPA / Scanpix / LETA
