Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi expressed hope for a peaceful Ukraine, where all citizens could come together in celebration. Their messages conveyed a shared aspiration for victory, peace, and a brighter future.

The Ukrainian president said:

“For the second year now, we have learned another form of it, another dimension. This is Christmas in times of full-scale war. Christmas with a different mood, context, and flavor. 

And a family dinner at home is not the same as usual. Because not all of us are at home. And not everyone has a home. And it has become much more important not what dishes are on the table, but what people are at the table. And how precious it is to have them around.”

Further, Zelenskyy added:

In troubled times, as we defend our land and our souls, we are making our way to freedom. The way to gaining comprehensive independence, including spiritual one. Freedom of our faith from the ideology of slavery. From a cult that has nothing human or sacred within it. One that brings violence, aggression, hatred. One that takes away security and peace, takes away other people’s lands and human lives. Yet one that will be defeated. By the power of faith, the power of truth, the power of law, the power of justice, the power of our Ukraine.

Zelenskyy expressed his confidence in Ukraine’s future victory over Russia:

Christmas Eve is the time of the longest nights of the year. But tomorrow the day starts getting longer, the light starts prevailing. The light is getting stronger. And step by step, day by day, the darkness retreats. And in the end, darkness will lose. Evil will be defeated. Today, this is our common goal, our common dream, and this is what our common prayer is for today. For our freedom. For our victory. For our Ukraine. For the day when we can all come together at home in a peaceful year of peaceful Christmas. And say to each other: “Christ is born!”