At the heart of Ukraine, a Christmas tree in a hideout

Kyiv's Independence Square, which formerly housed some of the most spectacular decorations, is now down to just one piece. A beautiful Christmas tree.The main square in Kyiv, Maidan Nezalezhnosti, is commonly referred to as Independence Square. The Square is not what it was in earlier years. In a recent Twitter post, one user shared images of Christmas trees in Kyiv from the years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Since the distinctions are so obvious, little attention is needed.

Russian and Ukrainian soldiers are fighting in the war that still wages on in Eastern Europe, but people are still optimistic that it will all soon come to an end. However, in the interim, Ukrainians will need to celebrate this holiday season in whatever small way they can.

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Next to the Saint Sophia Cathedral, the sole 12-metre-high artificial Christmas tree which stands tall in the heart of Ukraine is decorated with white doves to symbolise peace. Topping the tree is the country's coat of arm, the trident.

The Christmas tree was set up on Kyiv's Saint Sophia Square during the blackout hours prior to its inauguration ceremony on 19 December. Drones attacked the Ukrainian capital on Monday morning. The Kyiv city authorities urged people to heed to air alerts. The Christmas tree at Saint Sophia Square was unveiled in a low-key ceremony. Celebrations in Mykolaiv werelow-key as well. A Christmas tree made of camouflage nets draws a small crowd amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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"Russians try to steal normal life away from our citizens, but we won’t give them a chance to steal the biggest holidays –- the New Year and Christmas -- from our children," the city's mayor Vitali Klitschko said when unveiling the tree.

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The mayor of Kyiv said that hesitation on the part of city hall was there as a result of weeks of Russian strikes on energy infrastructure that had worn down the Ukrainian power grid. Despite it all, the city hall adapted and powered the tree's fairy lights with a diesel generator. They reused some decorations from previous years.

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Millions have been forced into the cold and darkness as winter approaches. We dubbed it "the Christmas tree of Ukrainian invincibility" because, despite the odds, they go above and beyond to make the children's holidays special, according to Klitschko. However, other people had trouble getting into the holiday mood.

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