DL Opinion columns, Ukraine

Ukraine requests holiday support: Light in the Dark – by Deborah Levine

originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

I just got a message from Yuri Bova, mayor of the Ukrainian city, Trostyanets. He wanted to catch me up on their wartime situation and get my support. Trostyanets is just 20 miles from the Russian border and was high on Putin’s list when Russia invaded Ukraine. The city was devastated by Russian troops that Putin intended to lead parades celebrating the Russian takeover of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. That didn’t happen. What did happen was the wrecking of schools, hospitals, roads, and stores along multiple murders and thefts of everything of value. Horrifying! 

What to do? That’s what I asked myself when Mayor Yuri came to Chattanooga to visit Mayor Tim Kelly and Sister Cities. It was heartrending to hear about the destruction then, and still is. I was so moved that I wrote a column about Ukraine for the Times Free Press in March 2025. And I included stories about my friend Angelika Riano who had recently returned from Ukraine where she supported the International Ukrainian Crisis Fund. Her involvement in the Fund’s humanitarian aid was inspiring then, and remains so today.   

I’m very passionate about responding to Mayor Yuri’s current request for support. As discussions evolve between the City of Chattanooga, the City of Trostyanets and Sister Cities, I wondered what could I do personally? I asked him what he had in mind for me and was immediately inspired by what Yuri said.

Yuri began with an explanation of how the many Ukrainian children who have lost parents in the war need support and a sense of not being alone. Could school children in Chattanooga create drawings that would develop connections and inspire hope for the coming year? As we discussed logistics, our focus turned to the creation of short videos, rather than drawings. These videos would be in English and uploaded to YouTube. Then, they could be accessed by television stations in Trostyanets and be given translated subtitles. This would allow the videos to be shared across Trostyanets, and perhaps across all of the Ukraine. 

Each video would be short, only 2-3 minutes, and encourage listeners to be a ‘Light in the Dark’, a favorite description of Hanukkah, which both Yuri and I celebrate. The holiday celebrates the Jewish people’s perseverance against centuries of oppression and refusal to give up to the darkness. Acknowledging that this cross-cultural communication would have an online focus, we expanded the strategies and kind of participants. Yuriy suggested that hopeful messages need not be just from children. There could be videos created by all kinds of folks: firemen, policemen, politicians, teachers, and healthcare people. They might choose to include kids in their videos, or not.  

I am really excited by this project idea and hope that you are, too. Think of the emotional support we would provide with New Year’s messages honoring the resilience of Ukrainians under fire. They’ll be heartened by how much we respect their ability to carry on when so much of their infrastructure has been blown away. They’ll feel the warmth of our praise when electricity and heat are hard to come by in the cold Ukrainian winter.

The impact could be very deep and I’m already working on my video for Yuri. Will you work on a video for him and his Trostyanets citizens, too? Let’s start the New Year by making a difference in Ukraine where it definitely counts. And maybe we’ll encourage others beyond Chattanooga to create similar projects of support. So over the next 2 weeks, create your brief video, upload it to YouTube, and email me the link. Goodbye 2025… Light up 2026!

CLICK  to see my sample video ‘Best wishes for 2026 to Ukraine’

Editor-in-Chief
Latest posts by Editor-in-Chief (see all)