Hi!
I am afraid of heights - a lot. And when this height is carefully covered with ice, I fear it even more.
Yesterday evening I went on the tour. It was a visit to St Andrew's Church. And I completely forgot that you need to use a staircase to get to the church - such a pretty staircase (in any season, except for winter).
The tour guide (a pleasant woman in a grey fur coat and with a green folder) invited us to climb the staircase.
- Please follow my steps. This part is sprinkled with... (something, I forgot what it was).
When I was climbing this staircase as a slow goose, I decided to stay in the church till the spring came.
Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of that staircase, but I have some from the church. So, in this letter, you will find the photos of St Andrew's Church (everything you will see is authentic from the XVIII and XIX centuries).
I planned this visit (I think it would be a part of my nightmares now). It is tough to plan during the war. The simple reason is the uncertainty you live in. On December 1, the Social Group Rating conducted a survey. According to it, around half of Ukrainians make no long-term plans, while the number of people making life plans years in advance dropped from 19% to 12% over the past year.
Around 15% of Ukrainians plan their lives for six to 12 months, and 22% for a few months.
I wasn't asked, but I am in this percentage for sure: 36% of respondents believe living life to the fullest is essential.
You can read more here.
War: Hi.
Me: Okay.
War: More! More about me, please. I love listening to what I have done. Have I done anything remarkable this week?
Me: Oh yes. You regularly shelled Kherson and Kherson Oblast from the left bank; you fired artillery at a five-storey building in Nikopol (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast), killing a man and injuring two women; you attacked a truck with humanitarian aid with drones in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, killing one person and wounding two others; Pokrovsk district (Donetsk Oblast) was hit by the missiles, and ten people were injured, two killed... I can go on.
War: Oh, I was a bad girl 😉
Me: Go away.
The situation on the frontline has not changed much. The most active combats are on the Avdiivka and Bakhmut fronts. But as the experts of the Institute for the Study of War stated, the russian military leadership is talking about the active defence of Avdiivka to hide the lack of any major russian progress around Avdiivka and to explain the inability of the russians to translate tactical gains into operationally significant advances.
In the Public Letter from last week, I mentioned the essential international support. But as our Ministry of Finance reported, the State Budget of Ukraine received about USD$2 billion of external financing in November. It was the smallest amount in the last six months.
Some previous numbers:
in July 2023, Ukraine received US$5.3 billion in grants and preferential financing from international partners;
in August, Ukraine received US$4.6 billion in foreign financial aid;
in September 2023, the Ministry of Finance attracted almost US$3 billion;
in October, Ukraine received almost US$2.8 billion.
I hope that I didn't overwhelm you with links. I give them as proof of my words and for you to read more about what I mention.
Before we go to the cultural part I adore, I must say a few words about winter. Okay, you already know it brought ice 🙈, but most importantly, we still have power, heating and water. There were no massive attacks on our energy infrastructure. I will give you updates about it every week.
I was pleased to read that Timothy Snyder, Professor of History at Yale University, Serhii Plokhii, Professor of Ukrainian history at Harvard University, Yaroslav Hrytsak, History Professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, and Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist Viktor Pinchuk, launched a new international research project called Ukrainian History Global Initiative.
More than 90 researchers have joined the initiative, focusing on independent research projects stretching back to the prehistory of Ukrainian lands and reaching today's events. I will follow the project with great interest (of course).
And now, the time has come to tell you more about St Andrew's Church. It was erected in 1754 at the place where, according to legend, St. Andrew the Apostle made a cross during his travels to the Scythian country. It was built as a summerhouse in Kyiv for the russian empress Elizabeth.
Famous architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli designed the church in Baroque style. The church's key decoration is the original bright-red iconostasis, made of linden wood and covered with gold. The tour guide told us it took three years to apply gold leaf to everything in the church.
So now you know about this historical place in Kyiv. Also, visiting the church any season except for winter is highly recommended.
If you wonder how I managed to be back home (not in spring)... It was so cold in the church that after an hour and a half of being there, I was ready to do everything to escape this place - priorities (haha). I saw a guard when I safely finished my journey on the staircase. He told me politely:
- Oh, we have nothing left to sprinkle the stairs. I'm glad that you made it.
My eyes were full of scary questions like, but the guide said that It was....
Now, when I remember that moment, I am smiling.
So, that's all I wanted to tell you today. If you find the information valuable, you might re-send the letter to anyone you want or share any part of it. I try very hard to ensure that Ukraine is remembered and its culture is discovered by people all over the world.
As usual, a gentle bow from me and my words,
Yara (or Yaroslava)
P.S. Please know that warcoffee from you helps my words to fly and reach many kind hearts. As a gratitude, you can access all the letters I send. For example, the last one is about my plans for 2024 (if you haven't read it yet).