Ukrainian children are asking Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus, for weapons, air defense systems and victory this Christmas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday, the day the country celebrates Saint Nicholas Day.
“On Saint Nicholas Day today … Russian terrorists gave a gift to Ukrainian children with new strikes,” Zelensky said in a virtual address to the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) leaders’ summit.
“Ukrainian children in their letters to St. Nicholas are asking for air defense, for weapons, for victory – a victory for them, a victory for all Ukrainians,” he said. “They understand everything, our children. Let us act!”
Saint Nicholas Day, or Svyatyy Mykolay Day, is celebrated in Ukraine on Dec. 19, based on the old Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. The saint’s feast day is normally celebrated on Dec. 5 or 6 in Western Christian countries.
Zelensky urged leaders from the JEF — composed of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom — to continue to support Ukraine with military aid to “speed up the movement of our armed forces towards victory.”
“Our victory will be the victory for each of you, for Europe, for your people – a victory that the whole world, I’m sure, looks forward to,” said Zelensky.
