CHRISTMAS-ORTHODOX/EAST UKRAINE Donetsk residents hope for peace on Russian Orthodox Christmas

Record ID: 628068

  • Title: CHRISTMAS-ORTHODOX/EAST UKRAINE Donetsk residents hope for peace on Russian Orthodox Christmas
  • Date: 7th January 2015
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF LITTLE GIRL POSING FOR PHOTO IN MANGER SCENE VARIOUS OF WOMEN DANCING AND SINGING ON STAGE
  • Embargoed: 22nd January 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ukraine
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVADXLTQ0FWQTB08JGNMSP2GYVY9
  • Story Text: Residents of the embattled eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk celebrated Russian Orthodox Christmas on Wednesday (January 7), voicing the wish for peace in the region.
    More than 4,700 people have been killed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine between government troops and pro-Russian separatists, provoking the worst crisis in relations between Russia and the West since the Cold War.
    But residents got a taste of normalcy for a day at an annual Christmas festival that raises money for a children's charity.
    Costumed performers sang and danced on a stage while onlookers swayed to the beat in the freezing cold and women dispensed hot tea from a giant samovar to waiting children and adults.
    A spokesman for the Russian Orthodox diocese said all prayers at Christmas were focused on peace and understanding.
    "We are praying for peace, for peace to be in the souls of all people and for peace in our country. We want the Lord to enlighten (us), so that people start to respect each other, to respect each person as an individual. Because if God became a person, why can't we get closer to a human understanding of one another?" Georgy Gulyaev asked.
    Residents of Donetsk agreed with this sentiment.
    "We only prayed for peace, prayed for peace. So that we are heard not only by Donbass residents, but heard by the whole of Ukraine. I think that people in Ukraine, even in Kiev prayed, that they also prayed for peace, and that we hear each other," local resident Natalia said.
    Another Donetsk resident, Sergei, said he had prayed at Christmas "for Donbass to finally return to peaceful life, for everything to get back on track, production back on track; for people to not be afraid to walk on the streets. We want all of that to end as soon as possible," he said.
    Local resident Lyuba also hoped for an end to the conflict, saying she prayed "for peace mostly, and children's well-being and health. Not for anything else."
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