New Interview with Mayor Vitali Klitschko: Kyiv Will Have a Christmas Tree
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Kyiv, Ukraine (November 7th, 2022)– The Ukrainian city of Kyiv faces a winter with no heat, water or power, as Russian forces have been striking at Ukraine’s infrastructure for the past month. Ukraine looks towards 2023 with hope, in the face of freezing cold temperatures which will soon follow. Russian Power shortages and rolling outages across the country caused Kyiv to schedule hourly rotating blackouts on Sundays in parts of the city and the surrounding region. Kyiv plans to deploy about one thousand heat locations, but that is not enough for a city of over three million people facing a cold winter.
“We are doing everything to avoid this (situation in the coming winter season ahead). But-let’s be frank-our enemies are doing everything for the city to be (this winter). Without heat, without electricity, without water supply, in general, so we (could) all die. And the future of the country, and the future of each of us, depends on how prepared we are for different situations,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko told Ukrainian state media this week.
‘O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree’ is a German folk song originally entitled ‘O Tannenbaum’ unrelated to Christmas. The song eventually became associated with the traditional Christmas holiday by the 19th century, and emerged as a popular European and American Christmas carol later on. The song’s lyrics were written in 1824 by the late German composer and organist Ernst Anschutz, who taught music in Leipzig for 50 years.
The question arose as to whether Kyiv, Ukraine, will get a Christmas tree in the midst of war. On Saturday, November 5, 2022, in a new interview on a 24 hour broadcast, former World Heavyweight champion, Mayor Vitali Klitschko of Kyiv, explained the situation. “As for the Christmas tree, we’re looking into a Christmas tree (for Kyiv Christmas 2022) right now. Closer to the New Year (2023), we’ll be able to be more specific (as to when the annual Christmas tree will go up in or around Kyiv city center),” noted Vitali.
Mayor Klitschko noted in the new interview his first responsibility is security for the over three million people now living in Kyiv, including three hundred fifty thousand displaced persons. More than ten percent of Kyiv’s current inhabitants are from other areas.
“No one will cancel (be without the opportunity to celebrate) New Year and Christmas. I’m sure everyone can celebrate (the holiday) with their family. One hundred percent (certainty) there will be no large-scale celebrations.”
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